A New Life
by MysticWriterGoddess
Summary: The is the sequel to Forgotten Love and Goodbyes. Leon and Akisha have reached the house in Echo Park and meet up with Dom's team. Will the team accept her, we'll have to find out.
1. Chapter 1

**A New Life – Chapter 1**

As she drove along the highway, Akisha couldn't help but feel grateful, she was on her way to LA to take some time off from everything that happened to her and Leon in San Francisco. As she looked at the road ahead of her, she thought about what life would be like there and how his friends would react to her. From what Leon had told her, Dome and the rest of the team were just as close as Benny and the gang was there. Suddenly a gruff voice came over the walkie-talkie she had on her dash. "Yo Akisha you copy?"

Akisha picked it up. "Yeah I copy Leon."

"Good just checking up on ya."

"I'm okay, just taking in the great view."

"What view there's nothing but trees out here?"

"I'm looking at a certain yellow Skyline who's contents hold a lovely sexy man who needs to stop worrying so much," she said as Leon laughed out loud.

"Hey I'm just making sure my fiancée is on the ball, by the way we're going to be hitting the city soon, so there may be a chance of us getting separated. If we do just get off at exit 37A and meet me at the gas station beside the ramp exit, I'll meet you there."

"Okay Leon no problem."

"I love you Akisha."

"I love you Leon," she said laughing as she drove on. When they got into the city, Akisha found it not too busy as Leon has anticipated. She was able to follow him okay and get off at the right exit.

Once they got off the highway and onto the main road, Akisha noticed Leon turning into the gas station he'd mention before. She followed and parked beside him. She watched him get out of the car, head to the front door and walk in. She waited in her car for about five minutes before he exited the store carrying two six pack of Corona. He walked to his car and put in the back. He then got back into his car and started it. "What was that all about?"

"Peace offering for the team."

"Let me guess, they'll be just as mad as we were when you came back."

"Yep so I though I'd cover myself."

"Good thinking."

"Well let's be on our way then," he said as he started up his car and Akisha did the same.

It had been about an hour since they had gotten off the highway and into the residential area of Echo Park. Akisha glanced around at the quiet neighbourhood and smiled, it was just as peaceful as home. She was right behind Leon, who every so often would glance back to see if she was still behind. "Hey babe get ready, we're coming up to the house now."

"Okay Leon thanks for the heads up." She followed him to a two story white house. There were small bushes in the front and white steps leading up to the house. She saw a guy sitting out front wearing an orange mesh tank. He had short spiky hair and stubble on his face. The one thing she really noticed was the thin spiral scar that ran the entire length of his right arm. She watched Leon park his car in front of the house, she did the same. Leon got out and walked up the steps to the guy and said hello; the guy punched him square in the jaw. Akisha rushed out of her car and ran up to Leon. "Leon," she called out.

"It's okay Akisha I'm fine," said Leon rubbing his sore face.

"He better not be okay, I'll hit him again," said the guy glaring at Leon.

"Hey take it easy Vince, I just got here," said Leon returning the look to Vince.

"Took you long enough, well anyways welcome back." His look switches to Akisha. "Who's she?"

"My name's Akisha," she replied extending her hand to Vince, who just stared at her with suspicion. "Never mind. I guess I should've have done that, so you must be Vince?"

"Yeah so what's it to you?" he said with a smirk.

"Hey Vince take it easy, she's just trying to be polite."

"Whatever Leon, so why's she here anyway, looking for her to replace Jesse?"

"Hey that's not nice you know she came with me for personal reasons. It has to do with some stuff back home, so cut her some slack."

"She a cop or anything having to do with the law, don't want another incident to happen like what happened with Brian?"

"No she's got nothing to do with that, besides where's the rest of them?"

"They're over at the store; they'll be here at noon, why?"

"No reason just asking," taking Akisha by the hand Leon led her inside the house.

Once inside Leon told her to wait in the living room while he went back out to get their stuff. Akisha walked into the living room and sat on the couch. She looked around the room which was pretty average. There was a TV with a PS2 hooked up, a couch and some armchairs. She got up to take a look at some pictures that lined the walls. A few of them were kid shots and family, but none had Leon except for some recent ones. She heard the front door open and saw Leon enter with their dufflebags and the beer. He set the bags down and headed to the kitchen to put the beer in the fridge. He came back and said, "Let's go downstairs to my room and I'll set us up."

"Sure thing," she said as she followed him. Once they were downstairs she followed him past the laundry room and bathroom to the first bedroom. The room was pretty big with a queen-sized bed in the middle. There was a dresser which had a mini-stereo system on it, a closet that had clothes loosely hung and clothes on the floor. "Pretty cosy," she said smiling

"Yeah it is, it'll be even cozier now that you're here," he replied shutting the door and kissing her on the cheek. He set the bags on the bed and began empty them. Akisha watched him put some of the clothes in the dresser drawer at the bottom. She went over to the vanity dresser and looked at the picture frames. They had pictures of him and the team here and some of him by himself. When she came to the one on the end she began to cry softly. Leon heard her, stopped what he was doing and went over to her. "Hey what's wrong?" he said wrapping his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulders. She said nothing but held up the frame in her hands, it was the one she had that said "_Me and my girl_". Leon took it from her and glanced at it, he smiled. "You thought I left this behind didn't you?"

"I thought you no longer kept it since you left."

"What would make you say that?"

"Nothing really," she said wiping her tears.

"You think I stopped thinking about you and the others?"

"A little, when I never heard back from you."

Leon went and sat down on the bed, he patted the bed, motioning her to sit beside him; Akisha went and sat down. Leon put his arm around her. "Hey don't ever think I would forget you, otherwise you wouldn't have that engagement ring on your finger," he kissed her hard on the lips and pulled her into him so that she was straddling him. He then gently rubbed his hands around her back underneath her tank. He then moved from her mouth to her neck and began gently nibbling it, Akisha let out a gasp. He then pulled her down with him onto the bed so that she was lying on top of him. He then gently slid her tank over her head and dug his face deep into her breasts, kissing the space softly. He was about to undo her pants where there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me Coyote, the rest of the gang's here."

"Kay we'll be out."

"Who's Coyote?" asked Akisha with a confused look.

"It's our nickname for Vince, long story."

"Oh I see," she said getting off Leon and slipping her tank back on.

"Let's go up and meet them," he said heading for the door. He opened it and headed out followed by Akisha.

When they got upstairs, the rest of the team was there hanging out in the living room. They stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to Leon and Akisha as they entered the room. "Hey guys," said Leon nervously to the group, they just looked at him and said nothing. "Look guys I'm sorry for taking off and not saying a word, I had no choice I was scared."

Dom got up from the couch and walked over to Leon, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hey man it's okay, we all had the same reason to split and go unannounced."

"Thanks man I knew you'd understand," said Leon smiling.

"Is this her," he said eyeing Akisha, "the champion racer you were talking about?"

"Yep this is she, her name is…"

"Akisha," she replied slowly extending her hand to Dom.

"Well Akisha it's nice to meet you," he said as he gently shook her hand. "Leon's told me a bit about you, hoping it's all true. I know he was hoping that I'd allow you to be on the team, but after what happened before, I weary about letting just anybody on the team."

"I understand your concerns Dom and it's okay with me. I'll understand if you don't wish for me to race for awhile."

"You're right, but I'll let you help elsewhere for the time being. For now why don't you come and meet the rest of the team," he said gesturing them to follow. He introduced Akisha to the rest of the team who welcomed her happily, though when she met Vince he still treated her with skeptism. "C'mon Vince be polite she's new."

"Hell no we don't know her enough to trust her," he said with an icy glare.

"Fine be that way, let's go to the garage and work on the cars," said Dom as he headed for the door and left, the others followed.

"Should we go with them?"

"Yeah I think it's a good idea, out cars could use a tune up," replied Leon putting an arm around her waist as they headed to the front door.

"When do you think Dom will allow me to race?"

"Give him a day tops, by then he'll have warmed up to you."

"Okay let's go," she said as she closed the door behind them. When she got to her car she got in and started it.

"Just follow me to the garage, I'll go slowly," said Leon as he came up to the driver-side window.

"Will do," she said as she gave him a small peck on the cheek. She pulled out behind him and followed him to the garage.

When she got to the garage she watched as the others pulled in and parked their cars. She pulled in and parked her car after them. She decided that first she would work underneath before working under the hood. She walked over and grabbed a trolley and laid down on it, grabbed a wrench and rolled underneath. As she worked on tuning up the muffler she felt someone kick her sneaker. "Yeah sup"

"Hey it's Mia can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Yeah sure give me a sec," she said as she set down the wrench and rolled out. "What do ya want to talk about?"

"Just about you and Leon, he really seems to care for you."

"There nothing really much to talk about, we've been friends for a number of years."

"Really I remember him talking about you some night after the races, when he wasn't busy romancing other girls."

"When he did what with who?" said Akisha shocked and hurt.

"Sometimes he'd be flirting with other women after the races. I sometimes thought why he'd do it when he was some in love with you."

"Are you sure about this that he really did stuff like this?"

"I'm sure about it, well see ya later," said Mia as she walked away."

"Yeah bye," said Akisha softly to herself. She continued on with her work, tears gradually streaming down her face. She rolled out from underneath the car, got up and walked over to the large toolbox and pulled out a ratchet. She went back to her trolley and rolled back underneath. She wiped away the tears and worked on her transmission. As she worked on it she couldn't help but go back to the conversation she had with Mia about Leon. She couldn't believe that he would do something like this to her. After all the times that he told her that he loved her and would love no one else, she had to find out about this. She couldn't take it anymore she had to get out of there. She rolled back out, went to wash her hands and got into her car.

Leon saw her get into her car and went after her. "Hey Akisha where are you going?" Akisha gave him no reply but just backed out and drove off.

When she got back to the house, Akisha ran inside and down to Leon's room. She fell face down onto the bed and began crying; she then rolled over and stared up at the ceiling. She got up and went over to the dresser and picked up the frame with the picture of Leon and her. As she looked at it she couldn't believe that she was going to marry him, knowing that everything about their love was a lie. She set the frame down and took a look at the engagement ring on her finger. She took it off and looked at it from every angle, noticing that on the inside it was engraved with the words: _For the love of my life_. She immediately began to tear again and as much as she wanted to believe that those words were true, she couldn't. With a heavy heart she placed the ring in front of frame, and then she picked up her duffle bag and began packing it with her clothes. She then left the room and headed back upstairs and out of the house. She headed to her car and tossed the bag in the back. She then got in and started up the car. She backed out and took one last look at the house before driving away. She wondered where she would go from there

**To be continued**


	2. Chapter 2

**A New Life – Chapter 2**

Leon threw open the front door and rushed into the house. "Akisha you here?" he shouted out, "Akisha. Leon searched the house; there was no sign of her. He quickly headed downstairs to check out his room. When he got there the room was a mess, the sheets were rumpled and several drawers were hanging open. Leon went over to them and noticed they were the one that had had Akisha's clothes. He turned his attention to the vanity dresser and the picture frames. His heart sank when he saw the one of him and her, the engagement ring sparkling in the front of it. He went over and picked it up, holding it in his fist. "Akisha now it can't be," he said softly.

"Leon everything okay?" said Mia.

"She's gone Mia."

"Who's gone?" Leon showed her the ring. "I'm sorry Leon I should've never told her."

"Told her what Mia?" he said with piercing green eyes.

"I told her about seeing you with all the girls that you flirted with while you were here. We were talking about your relationship and it came out."

"Damn you Mia," said Leon as he pushed past her.

"Where are you going?"

"To find her and fast."

"How do ya know where she went?"

"I have an idea," he said as he stormed up the stairs and out the front door.

As she sat on the beach with her feet buried in the sand and her legs curled up, Akisha looked out at the ocean. As she set her head on her knees she couldn't help but shed a few tears. Confused thoughts went through her mind, some were of her and Leon and others were of Leon flirting with other women. She tried desperately to block them but had no luck. As she watched the other families and couples playing in the sand and in the water, she couldn't help but imagine what life would've been like for her and Leon. She knew it would never be so she told herself to stop thinking about it. She noticed that further down there was a quiet part of the beach. She got up picked up her shoes and headed to that part of the beach and sat back down like before.

Leon drove frantically around town wondering where Akisha could be. He had driven to all the places where he thought she would go, but there was no sign of her. He then thought of the worst case scenario and that she had headed back to San Francisco. "Please tell me it's not true, tell me you didn't go back there." As he drove along the coastline near the beach an idea popped into his head as he saw the beach and ocean. "You've got to be here Akisha, this is the last place you'd go to." He drove slowly trying his best to see if he could find her amongst the people. There was no sign of her till he looked south and found her sitting alone. "I knew I'd find you, just hope I can bring you back." He drove down to the parking lot and got out, his heart beating hard in his chest as he ran to her.

Akisha decided to get up and walk along the shore knowing that the feeling of the water on her feet and the sound of the rushing waves would be peaceful to her. She stood in the water and closed her eyes, letting the sound of the waves soothe her confused mind. "Akisha," said a distant voice, "Akisha wait up."

"Go away Leon I don't want to talk to you," she said as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Akisha please listen to me, it's important," said Leon as he came up and stood behind her. He attempted to hug her but she pulled away.

"Nothing you have to say to me is important Leon. The only important thing is that you lied to me, again. It would've been easier hearing it from you, but no I had to hear it from someone else." She walked away from him and sat back down on the sand.

Leon walked up to her and kneeled before her. "Akisha I'm sorry," he said softly. "I never meant to lie or hurt you again."

"Then why did you!" she said looking up at him, tears streaming down her face.

"I meant to tell you at the right time when…"

"When Leon, when we were married? Were you going to one day say to me 'Hey honey guess what, you know when I said that I would love no one else but you, I lied? While you were busy loving your life in Frisco, I was busy flirting with other women.'"

"Well that's the pot calling the kettle black, you never told me about you and Rico when I first came back, I found out about it when he caught us kissing."

"At least you heard about it from me, I heard about your flirtatious lifestyle from Mia. Please Leon I don't wanna talk about this, I just want to be left alone."

"No Akisha I won't leave because I want you to hear me out, I truly do love you and I want you to wear this," he reached into his jean pocket and pulled out the ring.

"No Leon that ring no longer has any significance to me. When you gave it to me you did it out of love and promised that there'd be no secrets, but that's no longer true. If you really loved me you would've never done anything like this," she got up and walked away not paying attention to Leon calling out her name.

When Akisha got back to her car she got in and let out a long sigh. With her head against the headrest she closed her eyes and breathed. She knew that even though she was mad about Leon lying to her, he was right about her doing the same. He had had the heart to forgive her and hoped she'd do the same. Instead she flew off the handle and got all upset. Maybe she should forgive him and give him a second chance like he gave her. She decided that she would head back to the garage and finish working on her car, hoping the rest of the team was still there. She exited the parking lot and went on her way. Leon came up to the parking lot just as she was pulling out. He watched her drive away and wondered where she was headed. He prayed it was either the garage or the house. He ran to his car and got in, deciding to head to the garage first.

When Akisha finally got to the garage everyone was gone except for Mia, who was busy sweeping up. Mia looked up to see Akisha pull in. "Hey Akisha, if you're wondering where the rest of the team is they've already headed back."

"Thanks Mia, but I just came to finish tuning up mine."

"Oh okay I'll just finish here and leave, don't worry I've locked everything up, you just have to close the door."

"Thanks I'll clean up when I'm done."

"I'll see you back at the house. Oh by the way I'm really sorry about what happened between you and Leon, I shouldn't have said anything."

"It's okay Mia I'm sure it wasn't your intention to hurt anyone, don't worry everything's okay now?"

"You mean…"

"Yeah Leon and I have never been able to stay mad at each other for long. We always seem to make up one way or another."

"That's good to now, well see ya," Mia smiled and left. Akisha got back into her car and drove it inside the building. She set to work on fixing it up.

Leon pulled up a few minutes later and got out. He walked over to her car and noticed that she was busy working underneath. He bent down, grabbed her legs and pulled her out. "Hey let got!" she shouted. When she came face to face with him she said, "Oh it's you."

"Hey I was just wondering if you thought some more about what we talked about?"

"Yeah I have and I've decided that if you can give me a second chance then I can do the same."

"You really mean it that," he said with love showing through his green eyes, "you really wanna give us a second chance?"

"Yeah I do if you were able to give me one I don't see why I shouldn't be able to. Besides you know us, we're not the kind to stay mad at each other for long."

"You got that right," he chuckled, "now come here," he said as she pulled her up and into his arms. He kissed her softly on the lips and held her face in his hands. "I love you so much Akisha and I want you to know that I truly promise to remain truthful to you from now on."

"Leon please don't…"

"Sssh listen it's true, I'm saying this from my heart. I'm willing to give up everything I have to make you understand that you're the only one for me and no one else."

"I want to believe you but…"

"C'mon would you let me finish? As I was saying I hope you can understand and believe me."

"I do and I'm willing too as well."

"So you really wanna work this out and be together forever?"

"Yes I do," she replied tears welling in her eyes.

"Then let's get this ring back on you finger," said Leon as he pulled it out from his pocket, Akisha giggled as she gave her hand to Leon and he slid it on her finger. He then picked her up and spun her around. He carried her to the front of the car and laid her down on the hood. He slipped of his mesh tank and kissed her hard on the lips. He then began kissing her hard on the neck as he pressed his body hard against hers. "Leon wait," said Akisha breathlessly.

"No now."

"But the race…need to finish…the car?"

"The car can wait, I want you now," he said as she started to unzip his jeans.

"What about the others, they're probably waiting for us?"

"The others can wait, I can't wait to make you mine," he growled in her ear as he unbuttoned his jeans and then slowly unbuttoned hers.

"I'm already yours silly," giggled Akisha, "and I'll be yours forever."

"You know what I mean," he said as she slowly entered her causing her to gasp out his name. "I'm gonna make you mine and I'm never gonna let you go." He began thrusting hard and slow while pelting her neck with soft delicate kisses, while she moaned softly.

"Leon," she said breathlessly, "we should go."

"No I'm not letting you go, I don't wanna lose you again."

Just then the phone rang. "Better get that."

"Nah the phone can wait."

"What if it's Dom, he's likely checking up on us?"

Leon sighed. "You're right," he said as he slowly exited her and put his pants back up. "I'll go get it," and he went to go pick up the ringing phone while Akisha got her self together. Leon came back and said that it was Dom and he was asking about them. Leon replied that they were working on her car and would hurry over when he was done.

Akisha smiled knowing that she was right. "I think we better hurry."

"Yeah you go finish up underneath, I'll deal with up here."

"Sounds good to me," she said as be got back underneath the trolley and rolled under. Leon popped the hood and set it work.

**To Be Continued**


	3. Chapter 3

**A New Life – Chapter 3**

An hour later Akisha and Leon were done with tuning up her car. "Well let's see how we did," said Leon wiping off his greasy hands, "start this baby up." Akisha giggled as she turned the key and the car's engine roared to life. "Man I love that sound, it's purring just like a kitten."

"I hope that's the second thing you love."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I sincerely hope I come first, otherwise Leon Turner you're going to be one sorry future husband."

"You know me baby," he said as he walked up to her," nothing else is first but you." He leaned over and kissed her hard on the lips. "Now how 'bout be head back to the house, the gang's been patiently waiting for us."

"Sounds fine with me, how 'bout we race back?" she said with a sly smile.

"You're on baby," growled Leon as he ran to his car and started it up. He revved it up and pulled out, Akisha pulled up beside him. "Okay here's the thing, who ever gets there last has to buy the winner dinner."

"You got it honey, hope you got big pockets," she said giggling.

"Oh you're gonna get it," he said as he sped off, Akisha took off after him passing him along the way.

Akisha surprisingly beat Leon by a matter of minutes. He pulled up behind her in front of the house, they got out and closed their door simultaneously. "Woohoo I win," said Akisha jumping up and down in a circle.

"Uh-uh honey you cheated, there's no way you could've gotten here before me."

"What makes you say that?" she asked with her hands on her hips.

"Because I know these streets better than you do; you must've had a hidden GPS in your car telling you how to get here."

"Oh why you little…" said Akisha as she turned on her heel and walked up the front stairs.

"Akisha wait I didn't…" said Leon running after her. He finally caught up to her just as she got to the front door. "Honey I'm sorry I called you a cheater. You won fair and square and I should admit it."

"You better be and apology accepted."

"Now we better hurry and get inside" he said as he opened the door and they went inside. Once inside they found it to be empty but heard music coming from the background. "Guess I'm right, they're already chowing down."

"Let's hurry I'm starved," she took him by the hand and they headed for the backdoor.

Once outside they saw the rest of the team at the picnic table chowing down on burgers, salad, chips and of course Coronas. Dom looked up and saw them coming down the steps. "You're late but glad to see you finally made it."

"Thanks Dom," said Leon.

"Pull up a seat and grab some food, if there's any left," the rest of the team giggled. Leon and Akisha walked up and sat beside Vince who was by himself.

"Hey Vince," said Leon who got a glare from Vince.

"Hey," Vince replied. Mia handed Leon and Akisha each a plate with salad on it.

"Here you go babe," said Leon with a smile as he gave them each a burger on a bun.

"Here's the mustard and ketchup," said Letty as she handed them the bottles.

"Sorry but we're all out of relish," said Vince sarcastically to Akisha.

"It's okay bud Akisha's not one for relish anyway," said Leon.

"Well she shouldn't be here anyway, we'd be just fine without her."

"Vince that's enough!" shouted Dom, "We know you're happy with the situation, but there's nothing we can do at the moment."

"Yes we can, we could just tell her to leave and that she's not welcome."

"Look buddy I know you're upset with what happened with Brian, but you should be glad you're still here because of him," said Leon a little ticked off with Vince's attitude.

"What the fuck is that suppose to mean?" said Vince back to him.

"What he means is that had it not been for Brain's involvement you wouldn't be alive and still have your arm," said Akisha to Vince.

"You stay out of this," said Vince pointed a finger at her, "this doesn't concern you!"

"Well it's going to since Leon and I are engaged. I'll be here for a long time so you better get used to it." The rest of the team was left speechless.

"Is this true?" said Dom looking to Leon for approval.

"Yep it is, I proposed to her back in San Fran before we left."

"Let's see that ring," said Dom as he looked at Akisha. Akisha slipped it off and handed it to Dom who in turn passed it around. "That sure is a beauty congratulations Leon, I'm sure you'll make her happy," said Dom as he handed the ring back to Akisha who slipped it back onto her finger. "Now enough chatting let's eat." The rest of the team quickly ate their food.

After they were done they all cleared up and headed inside. They all put the dishes in the sink and headed for the living room, expect for Mia who stayed behind and began rinsing the dishes. "Hey Mia want some help?" said Akisha as she came up behind her with the last of the dishes.

"Nah I'm fine, you go with the others."

"It's okay I don't mind helping out, besides back home growing up I always helped my parents. It was one of those family moments we had where we could do stuff together, plus you've got a lot and will be her for hours."

"Really I'm fine it's okay."

"Nope I insist," Akisha replied as she grabbed a scratch pad and started rinsing up the other sink full.

"Well I guess I can't argue," said Mia as she continued on her side. While they worked on them together the ladies talked about life growing up and the hard times each other had. Mia felt bad about Akisha losing her dad and having to deal with it alone. She was glad that Akisha was getting back in touch with her mother. Soon enough they were done. "Wow you were right, we both got them done fast."

"See I told ya, are you glad now that I help you?"

"Yep I am, let's go and join the other," said Mia as they headed to the living room.

The rest of the gang in the living room were all busy playing on the PS2, except for Vince who was in his corner strumming softly of his electric guitar. Akisha saw the look of anger on his face and knew he was still sulking over the argument about her being here. Still she felt bad and could tell that he was is pain thinking about the events that led up to his accident. It made her think about her own and sympathise with him. She walked over to him and pulled up a chair. "Hey you okay, I'm sorry if what I said offended you."

"I'm fine, why do you care?" he said as he stopped playing and looked up at her.

"Because Vince I can tell you're hurting just thinking about what happened to you on that truck. I bet the one thing that was running through your mind as you were hanging by your arm was 'If I don't get off this thing I'm gonna die!'"

"How would you know that I was thinking you don't know what it's like?"

"Yeah I do Vince I've been there. I know what it's like to be shot and fighting for your life, I was in the same situation a couple days ago."

"Yeah right prove it," said Vince with a smirk.

Akisha pulled up her tank and showed him the scar on her stomach that was still fresh. "See here's my proof and you can ask Leon he was there."

"Nah I believe you and you're right, I do owe Brian my life. I guess I never really thought about it."

"It was because you were so angry about him being a cop that it was the only thing going through your mind. You're probably glad that he was there and able to get help quickly, otherwise you wouldn't have your arm," she said as she softly ran her finger over it, as Vince closed his eyes and sighed.

"Yeah I guess I'm glad, just not sure if I'll ever be able to race with it again."

"Didn't the doctors say anything?"

"No I never really told them that I was a street racer. I didn't want to get in trouble right away."

"I see I'm sure you'll be okay. If you want we could go and try out right now, there's still time before we have to race?"

"Nah, besides I wouldn't want to get into an accident with you in the car, Leon would kill me if something happened to you."

"Forget about him right now, my only concern is getting you through the pain and get on with your life." She took him by the hand and led him to and out the front door. Leon noticed and followed them.

"Hey Akisha where are you going?" he shouted as he watched them head for Vince's Maxima.

"I'm just going out for a drive with Vince," she hollered back.

"Why?"

"Just something I gotta do."

"Yeah don't worry Leon, I'll bring her back in one piece," said Vince as he got inside the car with Akisha. Vince started up the car and pulled out. Leon watched them until Vince's taillights were no longer visible. He wondered what Vince and Akisha were doing together and hoped that Vince was right about them being okay. He stopped letting it bother him and went back inside the house to join the others.

Vince drove quietly down the deserted road, Akisha beside him in the passenger seat. As he drove he couldn't help but look and her and wonder why she was so intent on helping out with his emotional problems. It wasn't like she had any direct involvement, so why was it of any concern to her. Maybe since she had been in a similar situation she could relate better than anyone on how he felt. It was maybe the reason why since the accident he felt so distant from the rest of the team and didn't really involve himself with them. He knew it had to do with the spiral scar on his arm and that it was a constant reminder of what happened to him. It was also the fact that besides Mia, no one else bothered to check up on him while he was recovering in the hospital. For some reason that he couldn't explain being here with Akisha in the car was somehow comforting. "So what happened to you, how'd you get shot?" he said as he broke the silence. Akisha calmly went over her situation and how it affected her friends and Leon. She said that unlike the team here, everyone back there was so supportive of her. They were there every step of the way through her recovery.

"So are you ready to take this to the next level?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you've done great so far driving, just wanna see if you're ready to switch speeds and go into racing mode?"

"I think I'm ready," said Vince confidently, "I'm just not sure I'll be able to keep in control."

"I've got confidence in you Vince," she said putting a hand on his shoulder, "I know you'll be okay and pull back the moment you feel uneasy."

"Thanks I wish I had your positive outlook on everything."

"Enough small talk let's put the pedal to the metal, we don't have much time."

"You got it baby," said Vince as he revved up and sped off, smoke and screeching coming from the tires. Vince and Akisha were off for the time of their lives, Vince still hoping to stay in control without crashing.

**To be continued**


	4. Chapter 4

**A New Life – Chapter 4**

Back at the house Leon sat in silence in his large armchair watching TV with the others. He couldn't help but keep on thinking about Vince and Akisha out driving together. He knew that Akisha was trying to help Vince out but didn't understand shy they had to be so secretive about it. Letty who was on the couch with Dom could see Leon's expression of anger; she got up and walked over to him. "Yo Leon you a'right?"

"I'm fine Letty," he replied not looking at her.

"You don't look fine, look's like something's bothering you?"

"Nothing's bothering me okay," he said with a glare.

"Well I think something is and it has to do with Akisha and Vince. You don't know what the hell they are doing out there and it bothers you."

"No what bothers me is that she didn't say anything, just got up and left."

"Maybe because she didn't want to disturb the rest of us and do whatever she had to do with him, it's not a crime or anything."

"Don't give me that bullshit Letty, it's the same with you and Dom!" shouted Leon.

"Hey you two quiet down or take it elsewhere," said Dom looking in their direction.

"It's the same with you and Dom," whispered Leon," and you know it. Every time you see him with another women you get all jealous and stuff."

"You got a point," she said with a smirk.

"So I do have some reason to be a little upset."

"We're back," said Vince as he and Akisha walked in the front door.

"Good cause it's time for the race," said Dome as he turned off the TV, "let's go team." Everyone got up and headed out the front door.

"Akisha wait up I wanna talk with you," said Leon

"Later Leon at the race, we got to go," she said as she headed out the door, Leon followed still a bit angry.

When they got to the meeting area the place was already packed with people. Cars lined the area and people mingled about, Dom and the rest of the team drove into the center of it all. They got out and Dom looked for Hector so he could go over the details of the race, while the others mingled with the rest of the crowd. Leon saw Akisha by her car sitting on the hood; he walked over and sat down beside her. "Hey how ya doing?"

"I'm good really liking it here."

"That's good because I want you to be happy, and I was thinking of moving here once we get married."

"I thought you wanted to stay back in San Fran with Benny and the others?"

"I did at first, but I just think things would be better here for us."

"I see I feel happy anywhere, as long as I'm with you."

"That's good. So about you and Vince, what happened between you two?"

"Nothing much, we just drove around talking about out near-death experiences and how it's affected us. After that we did a little racing around the city."

"That's it nothing else?"

"Nothing else happened; when we were done we came back. I did it to get Vince's confidence back."

"His confidence?"

"Since his accident and the damage to his arm, Vince believed that he wouldn't have the ability to race again. He was scared about going too fast that he wouldn't be able to keep control of the wheel."

"You wanted him to do this with you in the car?" said Leon looking at Akisha like she'd lost her marbles. "What if something went wrong and you got into an accident, then what?"

"I told Vince that the moment he didn't feel safe to pull back. Thank God he didn't have to and everything went okay."

"That's good, well I'm glad you're okay and I love you so much," he said as he put his arm around her and kissed her hair."

"Well it looks like we have to leave for the race; Dom's getting everyone together to head to the race site."

"Guess that means I have to head to my post as lookout, I'll see you after the race."

"I'll be waiting," she said jumping off the hood.

"I know you will and I'm sorry for being pigheaded between you and Vince. I know you're trying to help him out and everything, just don't make it your top priority."

"I know, I won't I promise."

"Well I'll see ya later," he said as he headed for his car.

"Hey Akisha follow me to the site," said Mia as she pulled up.

"Will do, give me a sec," she replied as she got in and started her car. She pulled up behind Mia and waved at her to proceed. They headed off to the race site.

When she approached the race site, she found it to be just as busy. She watched as the crowd cheered and clapped as she rolled in with Dom and the others, she followed close behind. She was about to turn away and park elsewhere when Vince pulled up beside her. "Hey join the rest of us," he said smiling. "You may not be officially part of the team, but I don't think Dom will mind, I wouldn't either."

"Better watch it Vince when you talk like that, if Leon…"

"Yeah I know if he heard me talk to you like this he'd probably break my neck," he said chuckling. "Follow me." Vince drove ahead and Akisha followed. They were soon with the others and parked their cars.

Akisha got out of her car and locked it. She turned around and let out a small scream when she saw Vince standing there. "God Dammit Vince what are trying to do, give me a heart attack?"

Vince chuckled. "Hey I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you, I just…"

"Well you didn't do such a great job."

"Hey take it easy," he said with his hands up in defence, "look I just wanted to ask you if ya wanted to watch the race with me?"

"With you, why?"

"Well the scene here may be different with what you're accustomed to, so I thought I could offer guidance…"

"And maybe protection from any jerk that might try to make a move and object to my refusal."

"Yeah something like that," he said giving her a smile, "so what do ya say, am I worthy?"

"It's okay with me, just don't try anything yourself."

"Why, you'll give me my what-for?"

"Yep and I won't be nice about it."

"Ooh a tough girl," he licked his lips and gave a sly smile, "I like that, just didn't think you had it in you."

"Really and if ya want proof just ask Leon." With that said she head to the rest of the group with Vince following her.

Leon sat alone in his car guarding the street near the race site. As he sat there he wondered how Akisha was making out. He wanted to give her a call and see how she was doing, but knew he would get the paranoid spiel from her. He listened intensively for any signs that it was okay for the race to start. A voice soon came on the scanner with the details about a break in happening in downtown LA. Leon took it as a sign that it was good to go; he radioed Hector to get the race going. He then laid back in his seat and breathed out. As he sat there he went over the past few days in his mind, the first two days had been hell for him. The first night the women he loved more than anything had been shot trying to save his life, he then spent the day in the hospital watching over her hoping she'd recover. That evening he spent racing around downtown trying to fight off the shooter's vengeful brother. If that wasn't enough as he and Akisha were trying to leave, he had to save her from her house before it blew. Leon was glad now that those days were behind him and hopefully he wouldn't have to deal with days like that again. All he had to look forward to was spending the rest of his days together with Akisha and one day start to plan their wedding. They also had to decide where they were going to live and if one they there'd be children running around. He smiled knowing everything was going okay now.

Back at the race site everything was in full swing, Dom was racing with Edwin and two other racers; Dom and one of the other racers with in a constant battle for first. Amongst the crowd Akisha watched with Vince by her side. Vince turned to her and smiled. "Hey Akisha."

"Yeah Vince," she said turning to him.

"There's something I wanna say, but not sure how to say it."

"Just go ahead and Vince I'll understand."

"Well I want to say thanks for everything and for helping me get over my insecurity. The talk and driving we did really helped to bring my true feelings out. You're the first person to care about how I felt and wanted to help me out."

"It's no problem and I'm glad that I could help. Since I'm gonna be here for a while, if ever there's a time when you want to talk to someone, I'm here. Don't worry about the others finding out, I'll never reveal anything you don't want me to."

"Thanks so much, I really appreciate it," he said gently hugging her.

"The pleasure's all mine," she replied hugging him back and giving him a small peck on the cheek. Vince was at first taken back but saw it as a sign that she was being friendly and nothing else. They soon saw and heard the crowd erupt in cheers as Dom crossed the finish line. They both cheered and clapped with the rest of them.

Suddenly Akisha's cellphone began to ring; she quickly walked away and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey babe it's me, so who won?"

"Who do you think?" she chuckled.

"Man he did it again Dom came through. So how everything with you, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, Vince's been great company."

"Great I'll see ya in a few."

"See ya later," she said as she closed the phone.

"So who was that?" said Vince walking up to her. "It must've been Leon by the way you walked off?"

"Yeah it him, he was just checking up on me."

"He really does care about you, it shows in the way he treats you."

"Yeah he really does care about me."

"Well I gotta say he's really lucky to have a pretty girl like you."

"Aww Vince," Akisha replied as she lightly blushed and turned away.

"I mean it, and with what I'm about to do it's really gonna get me into trouble with him." Without a warning he pulled Akisha into his arms and kissed her hard on the lips that left her breathless. When he pulled away he could see it in her face as she just stood there in shock. "God Dammit," he said as he brushed his hand through his hair. "Man Akisha I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me," he said as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Man if Leon finds out about this I'm surly dead," he began pacing back and forth.

Akisha finally came to and realized what had happened. She saw Vince pacing and went up to him. "Vince it's okay no one's gonna know."

"Leon's gonna somehow find out about this and gonna no doubt bash my head in."

"Vince don't worry I'll talk to him about it and make him understand. Believe me he's not gonna be happy when I first tell him, but I know him better than anyone. I'll make him understand that it was nothing but an innocent kiss."

"I sure hope you can," he said a bit worried.

"Hope she can what?" said Leon walking up to them. He walked up to Akisha and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey baby, miss me?"

"A little," she replied.

"Well I'm gonna make it up to you tonight," he said with a smile. "Hey man thanks for watching out for her," he said as he shook Vince's hand.

"No problem man, anytime."

"C'mon baby let's go," said Leon as he put his arm around her waist and walked off with her. Akisha couldn't help but look back at Vince and frown. She knew how bad he felt for kissing her and how much it was hurting him inside. She hoped he was going to be okay and if Leon ever did find out that he would understand that it was nothing but a complete mistake. She also hoped that it would affect the engagement.

**To be continued**


	5. Chapter 5

**A New Life – Chapter 5**

When they arrived back at the house, there was a party fully going on. Leon and Akisha parked their cars near the others and got out. "Let's go inside and have ourselves a party."

"Whatever you say honey," said Akisha as she followed Leon up the front steps. Once inside they searched around for the team and found them hanging by the TV.

"Hang here for a sec, I'll go grab us each a beer, said Leon as he walked off to the kitchen. Akisha waited and watched the crowd. Dom saw her standing there and motioned her to come over.

"Hey Akisha I've been thinking about it and I really wanna see what a good racer you are. I'm gonna have a race tomorrow night with a 5G buy-in, I want you in that race. If you win you're on the team, if not then I'll give you one more chance and after that then forget it."

"I understand Dom and you won't be disappointed."

"I better not cause I'll be racing with you."

"Note taken," she said with a small chuckle.

Dom laughed out loud. "Well enjoy yourself."

"I will," she said as she headed for the kitchen to check up on Leon. She didn't find him there and thought maybe he decided to head out to the backyard.

When she got outside, there was no one there; she did however see a ladder leaning against the side of the house leading up to the roof. "Leon you up there?" she called up.

"Yeah I am," he shouted back, "c'mon up."

"Ya sure it's okay?"

"It's no problem now hurry up." Akisha carefully climbed up the ladder to the roof. She found him sitting there drinking his Corona and staring up at the sky. "Hey ya made it come over here."

Akisha carefully walked onto the roof and over to Leon. She sat down and he handed her her beer. "Man it's so quiet up here."

"Remember when we used to do this at home after we met?"

"Yeah we'd take turns sneaking out onto each other's roofs about twice a week."

"Then we'd always make sure to be back in our houses before morning came," she said laughing.

"Well there was that one time a month after we started going out," she said smiling as she laid down on the roof.

"Yeah I remember that night," he said as he laid down beside her on his side. "We had just come home from a party and both of us couldn't sleep; we snuck out onto your roof."

"And accidentally fell asleep in each other's arms underneath the blanket."

"I remember the screams coming from the house when your mom came into your room and found you missing. She immediately called the police and they came right away," he said laughing as he ran a hand through her hair.

"When the found us on the roof my mom woke us up and almost literally strangled you once we were back down on the ground."

"She threatened to have us under house arrest for the rest of the year. She also almost had us where those funky leg bracelets that would track where we were."

"Good thing she didn't," she said as she finally took a swig of her beer. "Man the stars are beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you," he said softly growling in her ear. "Their brightness could never compare to yours and their sparkle could never compare to the sparkle I see in your eyes when we make love." He softly nibbled on her ear.

"Leon stop it!"

"Why I'm so in love with you?"

"Because I don't want anyone to hear us, what it Dom finds out about this?"

"Don't worry he knows about this, I did it a lot here. It was one way for me to remain close to you; I hope you did the same."

"Yeah I did and once with Rico." Leon stared at her. "Look Leon I was already over you, I didn't think you'd mind."

"Don't tell me that, you know that it was our special thing and not to be shared by anyone."

"I know I'm sorry," she said almost in tears.

Leon kissed her cheek. "It's okay I forgive you." He reached over and grabbed the blanket beside him. "Let's cover ourselves with this; it's supposed to get cool tonight." He unfolded the blanket and covered them with it. "There now much better." Akisha giggled as she laid her hand on his chest and he fingered her hair.

"I can see the look on Dom and the others, faces if they find us her in the morning and we're asleep."

"They probably won't say thing," Leon said as he took another drink and closed his eyes. Pretty soon before they knew it, they both were fast asleep.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Hey guys come and get a look at this," said Vince as he shouted down, he then chuckled at the sight before him.

"Hey Vince keep it down," said Mia coming out, "you're gonna wake up the rest of the neighbourhood."

"Hey Mia ya gotta see this."

"What the hell do we gotta see?" asked Letty as she and Dom came out.

"This," replied Vince pointing to the roof.

"What's so special about the roof?"

"Why don't ya come up and take a look," said Vince as he came down the ladder. Once he was at the bottom, Letty walked over and began climbing up.

"Well I'll be," she said as a smile came to her face.

"What is it, what's up there?" asked Dom a little upset.

"You gotta see it for yourself," she replied as she headed down the ladder. Dom went up and then Mia after him.

"They look cute," she said when she got back down.

"I wonder why they're up there in the first place," he asked still upset.

"It's not the first time he's done this Dom, he's done it before, remember?" said Mia.

"Hey Vince what are ya doing?" asked Letty as she watched him move the ladder away.

Just playing a little trick on them," he said with a sly smile.

"That's not funny Vince, put the ladder back and wake them up," said Mia.

"Uh-uh I'm going to enjoy this," he said chuckling. He then headed back into the house, the others chased after him begging him to replace the ladder.

An hour later Leon and Akisha finally woke up. They opened their eyes and found themselves staring at each other. "Hey beautiful," said Leon as he brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

"Hey handsome," she said smiling back.

"Looks like we had ourselves another all-nighter, just like the last time?"

"Yeah, but at least we don't have to worry about my parents yelling at us."

"You got that right. C'mon let's go downstairs and see if Mia's got breakfast ready," he said as he pulled off the blanket and they both sat up and stretched. Leon looked towards the edge of the roof; a scowl appeared on his face. "I fucking don't believe it," he said getting up and walking over.

"What's the matter?" said Akisha as she finished folding the blanket.

"Notice anything different?"

A gasp escaped Akisha's lips. "Oh no the ladder's gone, who moved it?"

"It had to have been Vince, he love playing jokes on us."

"So how are we supposed to get down now?"

"I'll go see if anyone's home," he said as he walked over the other side of the house; all the cars were gone. "Dammit they're all gone," he shouted to her.

"Great so now we're stuck up here."

"Not exactly, we can use Dom's room to get in, his bed is right against the window, and we could swing through it."

"Are you sure we're gonna make it?"

"Yeah I've done it before this isn't the first time it's happened."

"Well if you say so then let's do it."

"Got ya," he said as he headed to the part of the roof where the window to Dom's room was. "I'll go in first so in case you have trouble I can help you."

"Okay I'll wait for you signal," said Akisha as she watched Leon hang from the roof and swing himself through the window.

"Okay Akisha your turn," called Leon from inside.

"Akisha took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Okay Leon here I come," she said.

"I'm ready." Akisha followed the same method as Leon and swung through the window with no problem.

"See I knew you could do it, you know never to doubt me," he said as he kissed her on the cheek. "C'mon let's go downstairs, I'm hungry."

"I'll race you," she said as she ran out of the room.

"Oh no you don't," said Leon running after her, "I'm winning this one." Leon chased her to the stairs and grabbed her hand, pulling her to him. He then scooped her up and ran down the stairs with her in his arms.

When they got to the bottom of the stairs he set her down and raced to the kitchen, she chased after him both of them reaching it at the same time. "There it's a tie," she said giggling.

"Aww man what now?"

"Let's just call it a truce and leave it at that."

"Fine but next time I'm gonna win." They went into the kitchen and found some food warm on the stove. Leon lifted the pan lid to find scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage underneath. "Yummy looks good, grab a plate."

"Where are they?" she asked looking around the room. "Oh I see them." She went over, grabbed two plates and handed them to Leon.

"Thanks and grab the pitcher of OJ from the fridge while you're at it."

"Sure thing," she said as she headed for the fridge. She brought out the pitcher and set it on the counter. She found the cupboard with the glasses and grabbed two. She poured orange juice in them and put the pitcher back in the fridge. She then took the glasses and headed for the living room. She set them down on the coffee table and sat on the couch.

Leon came in a few minutes later with the plates. He set them on the table and sat down beside her. "Let's eat," he said as he dug into his food, Akisha followed. As they ate they talked about their night under the stars and how it reminded them of home. As much as she was glad to be in LA with Dom and the gang, Akisha couldn't help but think about Benny and the others and how they were doing. She thought about calling them once she was done with breakfast and decided to do so.

**To be continued**


	6. Chapter 6

**A New Life – Chapter 6**

Over at a nearby park Dom and the others were hanging out. They sat on the grass and chatted about stuff that had happened throughout the week. When the topic of Vince and Akisha hanging out came up, Vince tried hard to drop the subject. It was no use, everyone wanted to know what happened. "Look guys I don't wanna to talk about it okay, so just leave it alone," he said with a stern look on his face.

"We just wanna know what went down, you guys were gone for over an hour," said Letty.

"Leon was really concerned I saw him talk to Letty about it, he seemed pretty upset," said Mia.

"Look for the last time nothing happened, we just went over some personal business, that's all," he said preparing to get up and walk away, Dom stopped him by giving him the look to sit back down.

"Hey man it's okay, if you don't wanna talk about it then we'll stop pressuring you, right guys?" said Dom

"Right," they answered in unison.

"Good now that that's settled, I'm gonna go call Leon and see if he and Akisha are still on the roof," said Dom as the group erupted into laughter.

"Nope we got off no problem," said Leon as he and Akisha walked up. "Thanks for the prank Vince, it was really funny."

"Hey man it was nothing but innocence, you know that?"

"Whatever Vince you were just being your stupid pigheaded self again, admit it?"

"C'mon Leon you know I was only fooling around, I wasn't trying to hurt anyone."

"Leon give him a break okay, he admits it was a dumb and won't do it again, will you Vince?" said Akisha as she tried to calm Leon down, while eyeing Vince.

"I promise I won't do anything, like that again," he said grinning.

"Yeah whatever," mumbled Leon as he and Akisha sat down. "So what were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing much, just going over what happened this week," said Mia.

"Cool," he replied.

"What I would like to talk about is how we should go about doing the next race?" said Dom.

"Meaning where we should race?" asked Letty.

"Yeah I was thinking of making it a challenge with a huge buy-in."

A sly look came to Vince's face as he looked at Akisha; he knew this race was to be her trial race for Dom. "Hey how bout we do it at Devil's Backbone?"

"Are you seriously out of your mind?" said Leon glaring at Vince.

"What's Devil's Backbone?" asked Akisha with an intriguing look.

"It's a long stretch of road up in the mountains. It's got sharp twists and turns, and is dangerous to manoeuvre on at high speeds," said Letty.

"A lot of people have died there crashing into other cars or the barrier," said Leon

"Which would be a great place to test her skills since she claims to be such a great racer," said Vince matter-of-factly.

Akisha gave Vince an angered look. "Fine by me, if Vince wants to see how good I am then let's do it."

"Are you sure?" said Dom and Leon in unison. They knew that Akisha wanted to prove herself to the rest of the team, but weren't sure if this was the right way to do it. "I want to be sure if this is what you really want?"

"You don't have to do this, there'll be other races," said Leon with concern.

"I want to do this; Dom said that tonight I have to race, so if this is the race I have to do, so be it."

"Okay then it's settled, we'll have the race at Devil's Backbone," said Dom.

"Well then let's head back home," said Mia as she and the others got up and headed back to their cars and off to the house.

Back at the house everyone got out and headed in except for Akisha. She went to the back of her car to the passenger side. She pulled forward the back of the seat to reveal a hidden compartment which had a black guitar case. She pulled it out, put the seat back and closed the door. With the case in hand she walked to the backyard and sat down on the top of the picnic table. She set the case down beside her and opened it, pulling out a mahogany guitar which she softly strummed. "That's sounds beautiful, you play well," said a voice behind her. She turned around to see Vince standing there.

Giving him a glare and cursing under her breath, she turned back around and continued playing. "What do you want Vince?"

"Nothing just commenting on your wonderful playing; where did you learn to play like that?"

"You know what Vince; you're one funny and twisted guy. It's so amazing how two-faced you can be."

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?" said Vince as he walked around the table and faced her. "Why am I so two-faced?"

"The way you act around people is what I'm talking about. One second you have the attitude of a jerk, the next you're all compassionate and caring, like when you were with me last night."

"I don't know why I do it, but I guess you're right. I guess it has to do with the way I grew up. My mom and dad were always fighting and sometimes he'd hit her, which scared me. I once told him about it and how I felt; he was mad and threatened that if I ever told anyone I'd be in trouble."

"Did you ever tell anyone?" she said heartbroken.

"No I was afraid that if I did no one would believe me. Anyway I always acted tough so that it never bothered me. Even in school I never showed much emotion, I was afraid it would make me look like a sissy."

"I can see why you'd act that. Did your mom ever leave or throw your dad out?"

"Yeah she eventually threw him out, but I still kept the tough act to protect her in case he ever tried to come back. I guess since then even after I met Dome and Letty, I've kept up my toughness, which I guess ended up becoming my image and something I've been afraid to drop."

"Could it be because since Dom's always acted tough you've kind of looked up to him and throwing that away would make you unworthy to him?"

"I don't know, I've never thought about it," he said as he looked at her and smiled.

"I think it's okay to keep the tough image but not all time, cause it does make you appear a little stuck up."

"Really it does?" said Vince, surprised that she'd say something like that.

"Yeah I think that's maybe why Mia never went out with you, you were always such a toughie around her that it kinda bothered her. She saw compassion in you, but since you never showed it…"

"…she totally got pissed off and therefore wanted nothing to do with me."

"Exactly, you're so afraid to show what people know is there, the gang may have accepted it, but I know eventually others won't."

"But I have always had this tough image, I just can't drop it."

"I'm not saying to totally get rid of it, just let the nice Vince come through once in a while; you'll make it easier for people to like you."

"Thanks a lot Akisha," he said hugging her. "It's funny; I've never had the courage to talk to anyone about this before. Like how easy it is to talk to you about stuff, I could never tell the others."

"Maybe because you're still angry with the way things went after the accident. You can't blame them, they were afraid they were gonna be traced."

"Yeah I guess you're right; oh the reason I came is that we're going to watch the football game, wanna come?"

"I'll be there in a few."

"Okay then I'll see you inside," Vince jumped down and ran inside, Akisha watched his every step. When he was finally inside, she went back to her guitar playing, humming softly with the notes she played.

Back in the house the gang was happily watching a game between the Raider and the 49's, while snacking on chips, pretzels and beer. Leon watched as Vince went to the fridge, grabbed a beer and came back sitting down beside Mia on the floor. "So how's the game guys?" Vince asked.

"The Raiders are getting their asses handed to them," said Letty.

"So Vince is she coming?" asked Leon.

"Yeah in a bit, she's still strumming on that guitar of hers, plays beautifully."

"Guitar?" replied Leon confused.

"Yeah she's out back with it right now," said Vince as Leon got out of his chair and headed for the backdoor.

Once outside Leon stood on the back steps and watched her play. "Hey Akisha," he said as he came down the stairs, "come join us inside."

"In a minute," she shouted back, not taking her eyes off the guitar.

Leon reached her and sat down beside her. "Man Vince is right you play nice, where'd ya learn to play like that?"

"My dad, he taught me how to play. It's funny that you never talked to me about it before, I've always been in that house."

"You seem to forget that I moved in to the house behind you a few years before I fell in love with you. I had left home because of problems with my father after my mom left. I'd fallen for you that day when I saw you swimming in the pool. I'd always wanted to talk to you but was shy."

"I guess you finally had the courage when you finally asked me to join Benny's team."

"Yeah that's it, I remember waving hello and stuff, but that was it. I do also remember listening and watching you play on your roof."

"Yeah I remember that too, it's what I did when I wanted to be alone and clear my mind. The time when it really meant something was the time after I lost my parents and you, I was suddenly alone."

"It must've been murder and I sorry I was a part of it. I wish I could've been there for you when your dad died, it would've been less heartache," he said as he wrapped his arms around her. "Hey do you still remember the song that you'd sing during those tough times?"

"Yeah it was 'Saturday Morning' by Tom Chapin."

"Could you sing it now, I'd love to hear it again; it's been over a year since I heard your lovely voice sing it."

"Leon stop, I'm sure I still remember it."

"C'mon don't tell me that, you're just saying that to get out of doing it."

"Fine I will," she said as she tuned up the guitar.

"That's my girl," he chuckled as he watched her softly begin to play.

"_Saturday morning, and it's growing light  
__I look out my window and remember the night  
__A story's starting and this story ends  
__And I feel like I need you again._"

As she was singing she had drawn out the rest of the gang who'd gathered out onto the back porch.

"_Time used to softly when I was at home  
__It went on without me and left me alone.  
__Now it sits at my shoulder and claws at my hand  
__And I feel like I need you again._

_Whoo-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh  
__Some need a reason to cry  
__Whoo-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh  
__My love needs a little more time_"

As she sang the last of the chorus, Leon closed his eyes and listened to the words and music flow

"_Well I recall September and the leaves turning brown  
__Remember October left leaves on the ground  
__Now here come December like an elderly friend  
__And I feel like I need you again._

_Whoo-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh  
__Some need a reason to cry  
__Whoo-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh  
__My love needs a little more time  
__My love needs a little more time_.

When she was finished singing and playing she set the guitar down beside her and softly began sobbing. Leon held her close and gently rubbed her head.

Mia softly began clapping which cause Leon and Akisha to turn around. "That was really wonderful Akisha, really it was," she said smiling.

"Thanks Mia," replied Akisha as she wiped her tears.

"I guess we missed the game," said Leon.

"Nah they're just at halftime," said Letty, "should be back soon."

"Great we're coming in, right Akisha?"

"Yeah let's go in," she said as she began putting the guitar back into the case. When she was done she jumped down from the table, Leon followed her. Carrying the case in one hand and holding Leon's hand in the other, she headed for the house. Once inside she set the case down by Leon's armchair. She watched as Leon flopped into the chair, and then pulled her so that she was sitting sideways on his lap. She snuggled up next to him and began watching the game.

**To be continued**

**A/N:** I do not own the lyrics for "Saturday Morning", they are owned by Tom Chapin


	7. Chapter 7

**A New Life – Chapter 7**

Soon enough the games was over and surprisingly after trailing behind the entire game, the Raiders came out on top and won the game. Dom turned off the TV, got up and stretched. "Well it's chow time and I feel like ordering in. What would you guys like?"

"How bout pizza?" said Vince chuckling.

"Uh-uh Vince you know that's not a good idea," said Letty giving him a stare.

"Why not?" asked Akisha.

"Because we all can never agree on what to have on it, so we end up ordering three different pizza and end up throwing most of it away because we can't finish it."

"Since then we've never ordered pizza again," said Mia.

"How bout Chinese?" suggested Akisha.

"That doesn't sound bad, what do you guys think?" said Dom and he received nods all around. "Then it's settled, let's go grab it rather then have it delivered, and takes less time."

Everyone but Leon got up. "I'm going to stay behind and take a shower."

"K see ya when we get back," replied Dom as he and the others left except for Akisha.

"Wanna join me?" said Leon to her.

"In a bit, I just have to make a quick phone call."

"Fine, see ya downstairs," he said giving her a peck on the cheek. He then headed downstairs and Akisha headed for the kitchen.

Once downstairs Leon headed for the bathroom and began to get undressed. He turned on the taps and the shower knob. He stepped in and the hot water fell over him. Meanwhile upstairs in the kitchen Akisha was about to pick up the phone to speak with her mom when it rang. She wasn't sure if she should answer it or leave it ring. Noticing that there wasn't an answering machine, whoever was on the other end would be there for a bit. She figure that Dom wouldn't mind if she answer it and take a message. She breathed out slowly and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi is Mia there?"

"Sorry she isn't, can I leave her a message?"

"Yeah can you tell her that Brian called?"

"Sure got a number?"

"(303) 555-7759, who is this by the way you don't sound familiar?"

"My name's Akisha I new to the team."

"I see Dom found a replacement."

"I'm not officially part of the team yet, not until after tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I have a trial race against Dom tonight, if I beat him I'm part of the team if not I got one more chance."

"I remember the feeling when I was trying to get on his good side, it wasn't easy," said Brian chuckling. "Well good luck to you and don't forget to tell Mia I called."

"I won't nice knowing you Brian," and Akisha hung up the phone. She quickly called her mom to give her a quick hello and let her know that she was okay and everything was fine between her and Leon. Her mom was glad to find out that she and Leon were doing fine and congradulated her on their engagement. Akisha said goodbye and hung up the phone. She then hurried downstairs to join Leon in the shower.

Downstairs in the shower Leon was finishing up and wondering what was up with Akisha. He wondered why she was taking so long with calling her mom. He then thought it might have to do with the phone call that took place a few minutes ago. He was washing his face when he heard someone come inside and begin to get undressed. He then felt two arms wrap themselves around his waist and hold him close; he turned around to see Akisha standing there. "Hey baby glad to see that you finally decided to join me, what took you so long?" he said as he kissed her hard on the lips.

"Sorry but I got tied up upstairs," she said giving him a small frown.

"Who was on the phone?"

"Brian, he was calling for Mia."

"Really, did he wonder who you were?"

"Yeah I told him that I was the new member of the team."

"Cool I hope you win tonight, whether you win or loose you'll always be my champion," he said as he kissed her hard on the lips again. This time he picked her up and pressed her to the back wall. He moved from her lips to her neck while he caressed he back. Akisha straddled herself around him moaning softly as he kissed her shoulders.

"Make love to me Leon," she said breathlessly, as he pressed her body against his. Leon acknowledged and slowly entered her and began thrusting hard. Akisha let go of Leon so that she was standing with him underneath the falling water.

"God I love you Akisha," said Leon. "How bout you we move this to the room where it'll be more private and intimate?" he said as he slowly exited her and went to turn off the water.

"Sounds good to me," she said as she reached for a towel and handed one to Leon.

"Ready to go?" he said as he pulled open the curtain and stepped out.

"Yes I am," she stepped out and gathered her clothes. Leon did the same and they headed out. They were just gotten to the room when they heard the gang upstairs coming back with the food. "Looks like the crew's here with the food?"

"Well let's hurry and get dressed and go meet them," he said as he began getting on his boxers and then his jeans. Akisha began getting dressed and was done a few seconds before Leon. She took a quick look in the mirror which Leon noticed. He came up behind her and said, "You don't need to do that you're beautiful."

"I know but still."

"Still nothing," he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and looked into her sparking chocolate brown eyes. "No matter what anyone says, you're beautiful to me. I'm glad that one of these days I'm going to be walking down the aisle with you and profess my love to you."

"I would like to talk to you some day about that, about planning the wedding."

"I would love to but I think we should be more concerned with the race tonight. Do you wanna take a run after we eat so you get a feeling for the road?"

"I'd like that, c'mon let's go," she replied as she took him by the hand and led him upstairs.

When they got upstairs the team was already eating. Leon and Akisha headed to the kitchen to grab some food and then headed to the table to sit down. While they were eating Akisha felt Vince softly jab her in the ribs. "Akisha," he whispered, "did you talk to Leon yet"

"What about?"

"You know the you-know-what we had?"

"Oh, no not yet I'm gonna tell him later on."

"Well you better hurry up about it, I want him to know about it sooner then later."

"Don't worry he'll know soon."

"I hope so," with that said they continued eating.

"What was that about?" said Leon to her.

"Nothing really."

"Are you sure cause Vince seems worried about something. I hope it doesn't have to do with what happened between you and him yesterday," he said giving her a concerning look.

"Don't worry everything's fine Leon," she replied trying to hide her worried expression.

"Okay whatever you say. Let's hurry up so we can got out for our drive, it's quite a ways from here." With that said he and Akisha finished their food and excused themselves from the table. They headed out of the house to Akisha's car. Leon suggested that he drive there to save time, she agreed.

As they drove down the street Leon could clearly tell that something was on Akisha's mind. "C'mon Akisha out with it, something is clearly bothering you and I want to know what?"

"Nothing's wrong Leon I'm fine."

"No you're not, something happened between you and Vince and I want to know what it is. Look if he did anything to harm you…"

"No Leon it's nothing like that."

"Then what is it please tell me. Look Akisha, I really care about you and I want you to be trustworthy of me. If something is bothering you then I want to know. If it concerns me then I want to know about it now, even if it's going to hurt my feelings. I've always been trustworthy and understanding about you and your concerns, but you can't trust me with mine. Please let me know what's happening. I promise you I won't get mad and I'll understand."

"I'll tell you when we get to Devil's Backbone, that way it'll be easier."

"Okay I hope you can be truthful with me then?"

"Don't worry you'll most definitely know how I feel by then."

Soon enough they had reached Devil's Backbone. Leon stopped and turned off the car, giving Akisha a stern look. "Okay Akisha I want to know what is on your mind and what is bothering you."

"Okay Leon I'll tell you what's been bothering me just please don't get upset."

"I promise I won't just tell me."

"You're right something did happen to me at the race, something I know you're not going to like. At the race while I was hanging with Vince, we were talking about his moody attitude and how at times he can be a toughie and then be all sincere the next. When we both heard that Dom had won the race we both cheered and without thinking he gave me a kiss."

"He gave you a what, I hope it was on the cheek?" he said a little upset.

"Actually no it wasn't on the cheek it was…"

"Damn Vince!" shouted Leon as he slammed the steering wheel hard with the palm of his hand.

"Leon please you promised me you wouldn't get mad."

"Get mad I'm furious Akisha, Vince made a move on you. I thought he was someone I could trust and he goes ahead and does something like this."

"Leon like I said it was just an innocent one, Vince didn't mean anything by it. He did say one nice thing though."

"Really and what's that?" he said sarcastically.

"That you're lucky to have someone like me, someone who's caring and compassionate. Someone who's understanding and is someone who enjoys helping others out with their problems."

"He really did say that?"

"Yes and he understood that you would be angry once you found out, but I assured him that everything would be okay and that I would make you understand that it was nothing but an innocent kiss."

"You're right I am upset, but I'm glad that you could understand that. I'll let Vince personally know how I feel when we get back."

"Leon," said Akisha with a worried look.

"Hey don't worry I won't get medieval on his ass."

"Okay, well let's switch places so I can try out this road."

"You got it," he replied as they both got out of the car and switched sides. Akisha sat in the driver's a little uneasy. Leon assured her that she'd do fine. Akisha started the car and prepared to drive down the steep road.

**To be continued**


	8. Chapter 8

**A New Life – Chapter 8**

Akisha gripped the steering wheel and slowly breathed out. She was ready to test the road out and see if it was as risky as everyone said it was. She glanced over at Leon who smiled back, his way of saying that he was ready and everything was going to be okay. Akisha looked straight ahead and slammed her foot on the petal, her tires screeched out loud as she took off fast. She sped down the road darting in and out of traffic from both sides of the road. When she took on the hairpin turns with such sharpness, Leon was forced to hang on tight to the dash. "Man take it easy, what are you trying to do?" Akisha giggled and kept on going. Soon enough they had reached the bottom of the hill and Akisha pulled over.

"So what do you think am I OK to do this?"

"Oh you're defiantly okay," said Leon wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Man if you race the same as you did now, you'll for sure win." He reached over and gave his a kiss. "I suggest we head back for dinner, the team's probably waiting."

"Okey-dokey," said Akisha as she pulled out and headed back to the house.

When they got back the rest of the team was already chowing down on steak, mash potatoes and salad. "Hey glad to see you guys are finally here, how was the trial?" said Letty as she saw them walking in.

"You'll have to wait and see until later," said Leon smiling

"Well good luck anyways Akisha."

"Thanks Letty, I hope I do well too."

Dom got up and walked over to Akisha. "Look Akisha I've been thinking about not letting you race tonight."

"I don't understand Dom why don't you want me to race?" she said with a very confused look.

"Because of what happened to you before, going through something like that can do a number on your emotions. I think it's best for you to sit it out tonight."

It's okay Dom I did fine at the track, even ask Leon."

"Still in my opinion I think you shouldn't. Anyhow whatever happens, welcome to the team," he said shaking her hand. The rest of the team cheering and Leon hugged her from behind. "C'mon let's eat." The trio headed to the table and sat down.

"Where's Vince?" said Akisha noticing he wasn't at the table.

"He's out back," said Mia, "he's been out there all afternoon. Oh thanks for the message from Brian, I found it near the phone."

"No problem, he sounds like a nice guy. I wish I could've met him."

"Yeah I wished ya could."

Just at the moment Vince walked in form the back. He saw Leon, turned around and headed back out. Leon got up and headed after him. "Yo Vince wait up," he said once he reached outside. "Look buddy it's okay I know what happened."

"I'm sorry man; I don't know what came over me. I never wanted it to happen," said Vince as he sat down on the picnic table. "I knew if you ever found out, I'd be a dead man."

"It's okay man I forgive you. Sometimes these spur of the moment things can get us into hot water, but they can always be dealt with calmly," replied Leon putting his arm on Vince's shoulder.

I'm glad everything's okay, you're really a lucky man to have someone like her. I do hope she wins tonight."

"Believe me she will and end Dom's streak."

"I don't know if Dom will be happy or pissed about it," he said chuckling.

"Let's go inside and have some food," said Leon as he got down from the table. Vince followed and they headed inside.

Soon enough the gang was done eating and everyone helped to clear the table and take everything to the kitchen. Once they were all done they all gathered in the living room to play some PS2. The game of choice was _Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec_, and they each took turns racing each other. Everyone cheered on Akisha when she was up against Letty and ended up beating her. "Well I must say Akisha that if you race like this tonight, I'm gonna have my work cut out for me." The room burst into laughter.

"Prepare then to lose," she replied laughing.

"Well it's almost that time guys, let's head out," said Dom as everyone got up and headed out the door.

"Akisha wait a second," said Leon grabbing her hand.

"It's okay Leon, besides I know what you're going to say."

"Really," he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist, "and what's that?"

"That you hope I will, but either way you're glad that Dom allowed me to be on the team."

"That and I can't wait to celebrate after just you and me."

"My, my, my Leon you handsome devil, I know what you mean by celebrate."

"So you in?"

"Yeah I am but what about the others, won't they hear us?"

"They'll be too busy partying; besides the music will be so loud that I doubt they'll hear us."

"Well if you say so," she said smiling. She freed herself from his grip and headed for the door, but Leon pulled her back and kissed her hard on the lips. Then holding hands they headed out the front door.

When Leon and Akisha finally arrived at Devil's Backbone, there was already a party going on. Dom and Hector were discussing money issues and the rest of the team was mingling about. They walked over to Dom and Hector. "Hey Dom we're here," said Leon.

"Here's my buy-in," said Akisha handing him a wad of bills.

"Forget it I got you covered," he said pushing her hand away.

"Are you sure cause I…"

"It's okay Akisha believe me, if you're as good as you say you are then I've lost nothing." Akisha put the cash away and walked away with Leon.

Leon could see the sad look on her face and took her some place private. "It's okay Akisha, I know you're upset that Dom wouldn't accept your money."

"No it's not okay Leon," she said in tears. "I hate how everyone is being so sympathetic about what happened to me."

"What do you mean?" he asked as he wiped her tears.

"The way that everyone's been treating me, acting nice and all. I know I went through something tough, but that doesn't mean I can't still take care of myself."

"I see what you mean, look it's going to be okay. Just do you best and don't worry about anything. Win one for us, that's all I want."

"Don't worry I will."

"That's my girl, not let's get you set up. Remember to remain calm or else…"

"Stop before you make yourself nervous."

"Hey I'm just looking out for you, that's all."

"I know but sometimes you overdo it." she gave Leon a hug and headed to her car. She drove it to the starting line.

Dom, Edwin, Danny were all waiting for her at the starting line. Edwin whistled to her. "Aye girl, so you're the pretty one who's racing us tonight. Hope you're good as Dom says you are, otherwise that pretty face of yours is gonna look bad."

"Well let's hope I win, cause I would like to take money from a jerk like you."

"Yeah whatever, let's get this race started," said Edwin as he left to get into his car. All three followed and started up their cars, motors fired up. They waited for Hector to give them the signal. Five minutes later he flagged them down and they took off. Akisha sped off, giving herself a head start. She blazed off down the twisted road with ease. She saw Dom's headlights in her rear view but paid no attention. She took the curves with such precision; you'd think that the road was made for her. She finally saw the finish line a few feet away when Dom suddenly past her. At first frustrated, she pushed the button for her first NOS tank and sped off, beating him by a mere two inches. She slowed her car and let out a scream.

Akisha got out and walked over to Dom where a crowd was beginning to gather. Dom noticed her and waved her over. As she walked over she noticed the rest of the team approaching as well. "Well Akisha I have to admit, you really had me there. I never thought that it would take an outsider to beat me. Well I believe this is yours," he said handing her the huge wad of cash. "Be careful with it and welcome to the team. Well let's go have a party," he said to her and the crowd. Akisha excused herself and headed back to her car.

When she got to her car, Leon was there leaning against it, she could see that he had a huge smile on his face. When she finally reached him he pulled her into his arms and gave her a huge kiss on the lips. "I knew you would win, guess that practicing worked."

"That and that I am also a naturally talented racer."

"I know for a fact that you're a good racer, it's the rest of the team and the racing world that you had to mostly prove it to."

"Well I guess I truly showed them, otherwise I wouldn't have won this," she said as she showed him the wad of money.

Leon let out a long whistle. "Man that's a lot and I know the perfect place to spend it."

"Really and where's that?" she asked with intrigue.

"You'll see soon enough," he said as he delicately held her, kissed her lips and pulled her hard against his chest. Akisha was left breathless in his arms. Let's go to the house and do that private celebrating of ours."

"What are we going to do?"

"You'll find out when we get there," he smiled as he let her go and headed to his car. Akisha watched him and wondered what he had planned for her. She got into her car and started it up. She pulled out and headed to the house.

When she got to the house the party was in full swing. She stepped inside and immediately was met with people dancing and talking. She walked throughout the house saying hello to people and the rest of the team. She stopped by Vince who was in his usual corner, romancing women with his guitar. He saw her and stopped playing. "Hey champ good to see you," he said with a smile. "If you're looking for your boy I saw him head downstairs."

"Thanks Vince," she said turning to leave.

"Hey Akisha wait," Akisha stopped and turned back to look at him. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you these past few days. You really are a great racer, you proved it tonight when you beated the king." Akisha chuckled. "I've serious, very few have ever beaten Dom, and you beating him proves that you're a pro. Welcome to the team," he extended his hand and Akisha took it. Vince firmly shook her hand and smiled. Akisha smiled back and continued of her way to the basement door.

Once downstairs she immediately went to the bedroom to check up on Leon. When she opened the door he wasn't there. She checked the other rooms, but there was no sign of him. She went back to the bedroom and suddenly noticed something lying on the bed. It was a purple stain robe and on top was a folded piece of paper. The note inside read: _Put this one and meet me in the bathroom_. Akisha slowly got undressed and slipped on the long satin robe; it felt so smooth against her skin. Walking out of the room barefoot she headed for the bathroom. She softly knocked on the door. "Who is it?" said a familiar voice.

"It's me," she replied with a smile.

"By all means enter." Akisha opened the door to find Leon sitting in the tub filled with lavender scented bubbles. There were also candle randomly placed around the room, creating a soft glow. "Hey there beautiful, come in."

"Gee I don't know, am I allowed?" she said mockingly

"Yes you are, but I'm afraid you'll have to leave that behind," he said pointing to the robe.

"In that case," she slowly undid the robe, letting it slowly slip off her shoulders and down to the floor. Leon stared mesmerized as the glow from the candles cast magical shadows on the contours of her body. She then walked towards him, letting her hips swing from side to side. When she got to the tub she slipped in softly, sitting between his open legs. Leon wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her softly on the neck. "Welcome my champ."

**To be continued**


	9. Chapter 9

**A New Life – Chapter 9**

Upstairs the party was in full swing. Dom and the others were enjoying themselves as usual. Dom was a bit upset that Leon and Akisha weren't there to enjoy the party with them. Mia who was close by could see it on his face. She knew that it hurt that even though he was at first weary about Akisha, he was able to warm up to her when she finally was the one to beat him at racing. Now when he was ready to praise her for it, she was off somewhere with Leon. She also understood how they'd want to have some time together, now that she'd finally been accepted as a member of the team. When they were ready, they'd all get a chance to congratulate her.

Downstairs in the bathroom, Leon and Akisha were happily enjoying their bubble bath. Leon held her close to him as he softly kissed her shoulders and neck and gently fingered her hair. They could both hear the loud music from the party upstairs. "Man they're really having a party up there, maybe we should join them?"

"Nah I'm happy with the one I have here."

"C'mon Leon I don't think it's fair, especially to Dom. It took some skill to beat him and he was really impressed. He wants to acknowledge, but I'm not there to receive it, it's hurting him."

Leon could see that it was really bothering her. He knew that she was right that they should be up there with the rest of the team. "Yeah maybe you're right; we should be up there with them. I'll have plenty of time to spend with you once we're together by ourselves."

"Thanks Leon, I figured you'd understand," she replied as she got up, wrapped a towel around her and stepped out of the tub. Leon followed her and they headed out to the bedroom to get dressed.

Once they were dressed and upstairs, they went searching for Dom. They found him on the couch with Letty chatting with some fellow racers. Dom looked up to see them standing there and motioned them to come over. "Glad to see that you two could join us."

"Sorry we weren't here earlier, it's just that…" said Akisha

"Hey it's okay, you two deserve some time alone. I was just hoping to make an announcement with you present."

"Why?" asked Leon.

"Cause it concerns Akisha." Dom got up and called for everyone's attention. "Thanks you all for coming, I have an announcement to make. I've known a few good racers over the years and some have been fortunate enough to become my friends. There've also been those that have become enemies. Some have even showed such great skill that they even almost outsmarted me, all except for one. This person has done what very few have been able to do, and that is beat me. This lady here," he gestured to Akisha, "came as a friend of Leon's and hoped to make a name for herself here as part of my team. At first I must admit I showed some skeptism towards her and wanted to see her worth. Well she proved it tonight when she beat me on one of the toughest roads. I would love to welcome Akisha to Team Toretto!" After that was said the entire place went up in cheers. Akisha went around and got hugged by each member of the team. When she got to Vince he hugged her and secretly kissed her on the cheek. When she got to Leon he proudly took her in his arms and kissed her hard on the lips as the crowd cheered. "Let's party," said Dom as he started the music again.

"How bout you and I go have some rest downstairs?" Leon said in her ear.

"Sounds fine with me," she said as they walked hand in hand back downstairs.

When they got back to their room they laid together on the bed in each other's arms. Leon gently kissed her on the cheek and nuzzled her neck He then looked down at the engagement ring on her finger and smiled, "I can't believe that one day I'm going to walk you down the aisle with you and we are going to be married," he said as he heard Akisha softly sob. "Hey what's wrong?"

Akisha wiped away her tears. "Nothing I'm fine," she said to him. He gave her a stern look, knowing that she was lying. "It's just that my father always told me that he would be the one walking me down the aisle, but now that he's gone, it's not going to happen."

"You know he'll be there in spirit."

"That's true, but it's still not the same."

"Don't worry everything will be fine, I promise. We also need to plan where and when we're going to do this."

"Sure thing," she said as she yawned. "Let's think about it tomorrow, I'm tired."

"Fine let's get some rest and we'll talk more about it in the morning," said Leon as he reached over and turned off the lamp. He then snuggled beside her and closed his eyes.

The next morning Leon woke up to find himself alone in bed. He quickly got out pf bed and put on his jeans. He then opened the door and looked down the hall. He heard giggling coming from down the hall near Jesse's room. He quietly walked down the hall and came upon Vince and Akisha sitting down on Jesse's laughing at pics from a photo album. Vince looked up to see Leon standing there. "Hey man what's up, is Mia calling us up for breakfast?"

"Nah I was just looking for Akisha."

"Do you need something Leon?" she asked.

"No I'm fine," said Leon as he turned around and walked away.

Akisha put her face in her hands and sighed, silently cursing to herself. She got up and walked out of the room. She went back to Leon's room and turned the knob, but it was locked. "Hey Leon it's me, let me in." Leon opened the door and looked at her with anger. "What's the matter Leon?"

"Nothing," he said as he went back into the room and finished making the bed.

"Something's wrong Leon, you just not telling me."

"You wanna know what's wrong; it's finding you and Vince together again. I wake up alone wondering where you are and I find you and him in Jesse's room laughing over a photo album."

"What you think something's happening between us?" she said on the verge of tears. "If you think I'm playing around with Vince behind your back, you're crazy."

"Well then call me crazy, because that's what it looks like."

"Leon c'mon you know me, I would never do something like that. You think that one kiss from Vince would make me stop loving you, then you're certainly out of your mind."

"Yeah man she's right, there's nothing going on between us, I can assure you," said Vince as he joined them.

"Get the fuck outta here Vince, I don't need your two cents," said Leon with a glare.

"Yeah well I'm giving it man, nothing's going on between us okay. I found her in Jesse's room looking at his stuff. She asked me about him and what he was like, so I told her."

"When I woke up you were still asleep, I didn't want to wake you. I got up, dressed and left."

"I heard her pass by my room and wondered who it was. I went to check and found it was her."

"Please Leon believe us, nothing's going on between us I swear. Vince's really happy that I helped him with his problems; he's often thanked me for it."

Leon looked at the both of them and sighed. Deep in his heart he wanted to forgive them, but it head kept telling him otherwise. "Okay I believe you, I'm sorry for getting all pig-headed again."

"Hey man it's okay, we've all got our moments when trust is on the line," said Vince.

"Yeah I know," said Leon as he went over and hugged Vince, he then went and gave Akisha a hug and kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry for doubting you."

"It's okay I forgive you," she said. "I think we better head upstairs and see if breakfast is ready."

"Yeah I'm hungry," said Vince as they headed out of the room and upstairs. Leon still felt bad about doubting Vince, but knew that if he was going to have a successful life with Akisha, he'd need to be able to trust her at all times.

When the trio arrived upstairs, they found the rest of the team eating and watching TV. They were watching a video of last night's race. It showed everything from the pre-race bash to the race and after party. "Where you get this?" asked Vince as he sat down on the couch.

"I got it from Hector's brother, he filmed it," said Dom. "He thought I might want to see it."

"It's pretty good, especially the racing," said Letty.

"If you guys are hungry, breakfast's in the kitchen," said Mia.

"Thanks Mia I'm starving," said Akisha. She headed to the kitchen to grab some food, the guys followed close behind. She grabbed a plate and loaded it with eggs, bacon and toast. The men did the same and they all headed back out to join the others, they had just finished watching the race.

"Ah man we missed it," whined Vince.

"Don't worry we're gonna watch it again," said Letty.

Just then there was a knock at the door, Dom got up to answer it. "Who is it?" he said as he got to the door.

"It's Tanner," said an older man voice.

Dom opened the door with an angered look on his face. "What do you want?"

"Just wanted to clarify something with you; did you have anything to do with the race at Devil's Backbone last night?" said Tanner as he took off his glasses and wiped them.

"Why?" Dom responded still glaring at him.

"Because there were reports of racing going on there, a place that you'd assured me you weren't going to have a race at. I thought we had an agreement Toretto."

"We still have it."

"Good because a lot is riding on my neck. I agreed to drop all charges of theft if you agreed to race within a certain area. If you're found racing outside to area, I'd get into trouble and be forced to arrest you and your team. I want to be sure that this was a one-time mess up and won't happen again."

I can assure you it won't"

"Alright then so long," said Tanner as he headed down the steps, Dom closed the door. He then headed back to the others.

When Dom got back Akisha could tell that he wasn't happy. She knew it was partially her fault and partially Vince's. She knew that he'd suggested it and she'd been the one to go along with it. She looked over at Vince and saw that he was thinking the same thing. "Hey man I'm sorry, I forgot about the deal ya made with the cops."

"It's okay Vince, besides you know that no matter what I'd still have had it there. Forget the deal with them, it'll be broken again somehow."

"Yeah we'll just have to make sure we make more noise next time," chucked Letty.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" said Vince.

"We're going to the beach," said Dom, the rest seemed happy except for Vince. Dom could tell that Vince wasn't happy and he knew why. The beach was Jesse's favorite place to got you and now with him not there, it seemed hard enough to go without him. "You're welcome to stay here if you want?"

"Nah I'll go with, I could use some sunshine anyway."

"Well then let's get ready and go," said Dom as he headed upstairs to get ready. The others followed and went their separate ways.

**To Be Continued**


	10. Chapter 10

**A New Life – Chapter 10**

After two hours of planning and preparing, the team finally made it to the beach. The girls and Vince were enjoying the water, while the others watched from the blanket. "How bout you and I go join them?" Leon asked Akisha.

"Sure I'll race you," she said as she got up and ran.

"Hey come back here," Leon said as he ran after her. He finally caught up to her as she reached the water. He scooped her up in his arms and carried further in, before tossing her in. He waited patiently for her to come up but she didn't. He started looking around for her, afraid that she'd been caught in an undertow. Suddenly he felt something grab his leg and pull him under. He came back up coughing up water and Akisha laughing beside him.

"Are you okay?" asked Akisha as she watched him spit up water.

"No I'm not okay, what are you trying to do, kill me?"

"Well you deserve it for tossing me into the water."

"You know it was a joke?"

"Yeah I knew I was just getting you back."

"Why you little…" he said as he grabbed her and pulled her back down. When they came back up, they were both laughing. Akisha looked around and saw some people surfing; her heart sank as she watched them. It reminded her of her father; he'd been a really good surfer back then and was starting to teach her as a child. It all stopped when she almost drowned and he decided that she was too young and it was dangerous. If he'd know she had turned to racing, he'd be even more upset.

"Why don't we join them?" she asked pointing in the direction of Vince and the girls.

"Sounds good to me," Leon replied as he took her hand and led her to them. They frolicked in the water for an hour before heading out of the water for lunch.

As the team ate lunch, everyone wanted to know if Leon and Akisha had settled with a wedding date and where it would be. Leon said no but said they were still thinking about it. Letty made a joke that by the time they came up with a date they'd all be old, Leon gave her a glare. "Hey guys how bout a game of volleyball afterwards, Dom Letty and Vince against me, Leon and Akisha?" asked Mia

"I'm up for it," said Letty.

"Sounds like a winner, let's do it," said Vince.

"I don't know if it's such a good idea once we're done eating," said Leon.

"I agree, let's wait about an hour before we do, let's enjoy the sunshine instead," said Mia.

"That sounds like a good idea, I could use a good tan," Letty said smiling.

"So could I," said Akisha, "I need to get to a nice shade of brown."

"You guys do whatever, it's all good to me," said Dom.

"Then it's settled," said Letty. They finished eating and went on their separate ways. The girls including Akisha went to their towels and began spreading lotion on their bodies. Vince went back to the water, while Leon and Dom cleaned up.

Everyone did their activities for the next hour before coming back and meeting at the blanket. They grabbed everything and headed over to the volleyball courts. They found an empty court and split into their teams. Dom took the ball and served it, the game was on. They all played for the next couple of hours before everyone stopped for a break. Dom asked if they wanted to stay longer or should they head home. The team agreed to stay for another hour before heading home. Everyone except for Leon and Akisha decided to head back to the water. The couple went to sit on the sand, while the others played in the water. As they sat and held hands, Leon and Akisha talked about how the past four days had been. They had been through both exciting and tough times, but they were happy that everything was going well. "So where do you wanna have it?"

"What?" she replied confused.

"The wedding, I would like to have it outside somewhere and small."

"Me too and I want it to be very exclusive, just people we really know. I would really like to have Benny and the others there and my mom too."

"Of course, I would dream of not having them there."

"Well at least one person won't be there and I'm glad for that," said Akisha with a look on her face that Leon could read well. He knew of the person she was talking about and it was Rico.

"Hey don't even think about him, you know that he's safely locked up and there's no chance of him coming after us."

"Yeah I know, but still…"

"Hey look at me, he said as he took hold of her chin, "don't worry about it, we're going to be okay and have no more interruptions."

"Okay," she replied smiling.

"That's my girl," said Leon as he softly kissed her on the lips. He turned to see the others head towards them. "Well it looks like it's time to go, the others are on their way here."

"Let's start packing up," said Akisha as they got up from the blanket and began folding it. The others soon arrived and helped to finish cleaning up. They piled into their cars and headed home.

When they got back to the house they put everything away and went to change into their regular clothes. When they were done they all met back in the living room to discuss what they'd be doing for the evening. Vince suggested a movie night since it was half-off night at the video store. When the others agreed, he and Letty went off to grab some movies, while the others went to go get some popcorn. While they waited for the popcorn, the other four talked about Leon and Akisha's relationship and how they met. Mia thought it was really amazing how their relationship survived through all the hardship they had been faced with. Akisha even confronted Leon about the dinner he still owed her. "And what dinner would this be?" said Mia as she hopped up onto the counter.

"We had a race back to the house after working on our cars, with the loser buying the winner dinner," said Akisha.

"And let me guess you won?" said Dom with a smile

"Yep so as a result Leon owes me dinner, so I was thinking that he could pay up tonight and take me out."

"I know the perfect place for you two, it's called Cha-Cha-Cha, and Brian took me there when he was here."

"I was thinking of the same thing, it's small, intimate and the perfect place for us," said Leon.

"Well you two better get going, don't worry about the others wondering where you are, we'll let them know," said Dom.

"Cool thanks," said Leon as he and Akisha left the house and headed for his car. They got in and were on their way.

Ten minutes later they arrived at the restaurant and were seated at a table outside. They both ordered enchiladas and a Corona. While they waited for the food to arrive they talked some more about the wedding and what would be a good time to have it. Akisha thought that the summer would be a great time and she would love to have it on the beach. Leon figured that she'd choose the beach since it was here favorite place and where they'd often hang out. As he held her hands, he looked into her big brown eyes and smiled. "I love you so much Akisha and I want you to know that I'm happy to be spending this time with you. I know we're gonna be happy for the rest of our lives, and maybe have children some day."

"If we have kids, you know what that means?"

"Yeah I know we might have to give up racing."

"And also find a place of our own; I don't think they'll be able to sleep with all the noise."

"Don't worry I've thought about that as well," he said softly chuckling. A waitress arrived with their food and drinks. The couple smiled and began eating their food. "I was thinking of going for a walk on the beach when we're done."

"Sounds good and very romantic to me," she said as they continued with dinner.

Back at home the others were in the living room watching the movies and eating popcorn. Vince and Letty had come back with a couple horror and action movies. Vince at first wondered why Akisha and Leon were gone, Mia explained where they were and he smiled. It was funny how their first dinner out was the same place that Mia and Brian went to on theirs. Deep in his heart Vince had a thing for Akisha, but knew that he'd never have a chance with her since she was engaged to Leon. He also knew that if anyone ever found out, especially Leon, it would be the end of him. He also knew it would be hard but better to just drop it and forget about ever having anything to do with her; they could be nothing more than friends. Just at that moment the phone rang, "I'll get it," he said as he ran to the phone. "Hello?"

"Yeah is Leon or Akisha there?"

"Nope 'fraid not," he said.

"Well let them know it's Big Ben just saying hello and I hope to hear back from them." Big Ben was a nickname the team in San Fran had given Benny. It was part of an inside joke and the name stuck.

"Sure will do."

"Thanks," said Benny as he hung up. Vince hung up and headed back to the living room.

Back at the restaurant Leon and Akisha had finished their meal and now were sharing a bowl of fried ice cream. They each took turns eating and feeding each other, while talking some more about the wedding ideas. They soon were interrupted when Hector spotted them while walking by with his hommies. "Yo Leon what's up man, out with Akisha I see."

"Yeah Hector I am, just going over stuff."

"Cool man, by the way congratulations on the engagement."

"Thanks Hector," said a smiling Leon.

"And to you _mamasita_, congrats on beating Dom," he said smiling at Akisha, "it took some skill beating him.

"Gracias Hector, it certainly was a difficult race, it's good to be a winner elsewhere."

"Well I guess I better let you two go then," he said as he waved goodbye and walked away.

"He's right you know about it taking skill to beat Dom."

"I know it did and I was glad to. It proved that I'm just as good of a racer here as I was back in Frisco."

"Yeah it did, you showed them how tough you really are. Let's finish this and head back home."

"I thought you wanted to go for a walk on the beach?"

"It's late and I'm a bit tired," said Leon as Akisha gave him a sad look. They finished their dessert, paid and left for home.

Back at the house the gang was watching another movie except for Vince; he was outside on the picnic table drinking a beer. Mia saw him sitting there and wondered why he'd been so silent lately. Ever since the big race, Vince had been very quiet and distant from the others. She got up from the floor and headed out of the house. She walked up to him and sat down beside him. "You okay Vince, you seem down about something?"

"I'm fine Mia everything's okay," he replied taking a sip of beer.

"It looks like something's on your mind, are you sure everything's okay?"

"I'm sure Mia, I just feel like being alone right now."

"You've been feeling a lot like that lately and it's gotten everyone worried. Dom thinks you're hiding something."

"Has he…"

"…said anything, no but I can see it when he looks at you."

"I know he's thinking that, he's talked to me about it. It's a problem I'm facing and I just am scared that if I tell my secret, it'll hurt a lot of people."

"What is it Vince, you can tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone unless you want me to?"

Vince looked at her and gave a large sigh. "Mia, I've fallen in love with Akisha."

**To Be Continued**


	11. Chapter 11

**A New Life – Chapter 11**

Mia sat there in shock, looking at Vince like he was crazy. "Are you crazy Vince, please tell me I just didn't hear what I just heard?"

"I'm serious Mia; I didn't expect this to happen."

"How did you fall in love with her?"

"It started when she spent that time with me driving around. It developed when she spent all that time talking with me. I'm telling you the truth Mia and I've tried so hard to keep it hidden."

"Why haven't you told anyone?"

"Don't you understand Mia I can't, if anyone were to know about this it would get me into some serious trouble? It would especially hurt Leon and our friendship." Vince finished his beer and set the bottle beside him. He put his face in his hands and sighed. "I'm scared Mia, really scared."

"What's there to be scared about, telling the truth is the best thing for you to do, what's stopping you?"

"Dom for one thing, if he knew I've got eyes for someone else's girl, he'd have me outta here so fast."

"I'm sure everyone will understand you gotta let it out."

"Right now?"

"Yes right now, c'mon," she said as she extended her hand. Vince took it and jumped down. They headed back to the house and inside. Vince hoped he had enough courage to tell everyone the truth and that it wouldn't affect the closeness he had with the rest of the team.

The rest of the team was inside watching the end of the movie. Dom looked in Mia and Vince's direction with a frown. "What happened what took you guys so long?"

"Nothing just having a talk," replied Mia.

"What about?"

"Nothing really."

Dom could see Vince staring at Leon and Akisha, him in his chair and her on the floor beside him, knowing it had to do something with them. "Is that true Vince?"

"Yeah man it is nothing really big."

"Are you sure, cause from you look it looks like it has something to do with them," he said pointing to Leon and Akisha.

Vince looked at Leon and Akisha with a heavy heart, knowing that what he had to say would hurt them both. "It's got nothing to do with them Dom."

"Then why are you looking at them, tell me now Vince what are you hiding?"

"I'm hiding nothing Dom!"

Leon could see the look Vince was giving and knew that it had to do with Vince and Akisha. He thought what it could be and when the thought came to his mind his look changed from confusing to anger. He leaped from the chair, ran to Vince and tackled him to the floor. "You bastard!" he shouted as he began punching Vince.

Dom ran over to Leon and tried to pull him from Vince. "Hey Leon take it easy, let go of him."

"No," said Leon between punches, "he swore to me that nothing was going on between them."

"What are you talking about?" said Dom as he finally pulled Leon away from Vince. Vince's face was a mess his right eye was black and blue, and his lip and nose were bleeding.

"Vince told me that he made a move on Akisha and that it was nothing but an accident. I've seen them hanging around and he swore to me that nothing was going on between them."

"Is this true?" said Dom to Vince who was wiping the blood off his face.

"Yeah," mumbled Vince.

"Excuse me?" shouted Dom with fire in his eyes.

"Yes it's true, I have fallen for her."

"You son-of-a-bitch," said Leon as he pulled free from Dom and lunged at Vince, but Dom grabbed him.

"Enough Leon let him be," said Dom as he struggled to hold Leon.

"No he's gotta pay for his betrayal."

"I said let him go, don't make me get angry," said Dom as Leon stopped struggling. "Vince go get cleaned, Mia go help him. Leon you and Akisha leave now."

"Leave what do you mean?"

"I want you two outta here while I handle this."

"We'll just wait down…"

"No, both out now." Akisha got up from the floor and went with Leon out the front door.

When the couple got outside Leon let out a scream. He grabbed Akisha by the shoulders tightly. "How could you do this to me Akisha!" he said as she shook her.

"I didn't do anything Leon."

"Yes you did, you told me there was nothing between you and Vince."

"It's true there was nothing between us."

"Then how come he just said what he said?"

"I don't know, I don't have feelings for him, I am committed to you," she said as tears streamed down her face. "Please Leon I'm telling the truth, I didn't know."

Leon let go of her, walked to the house and punched the wall hard. He rubbed his hand and let out a sigh. He put his back to the wall and slowly slid down; Akisha went over to him and sat down beside him. Leon held her hands and sighed. "I'm sorry Akisha for getting made at you Akisha, but I can't do this. I can't keep playing around like this."

"Playing around, what are you talking about? You still think that I knew about Vince falling for me, believe me I didn't."

"Then why was he looking at us the whole entire time he was talking to Dom?"

"He probably knew this was going to hurt us and looked at us knowing it would."

"Don't give me that crap," he said as he got up and headed down the steps.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just going for a drive, you stay here."

"Why?" she said wiping her tears.

"Cause I really don't want to be with you right now," he said as he headed for his car and got in.

"Leon wait," said Akisha as she watched him start the car and pull away. She sat down on the steps and broke down crying.

Back inside Mia was busy in the kitchen helping Vince with his wounds. As she wiped his cuts, he couldn't help but stare at her with anger. It was her fault that he was in this situation, her being the one to tell him to reveal the truth. "I'm really sorry Vince, I was sure he'd understand" she said softly as she put a band-aid on his lip.

Vince who had an ice pack on his eye let out a snort. "Yeah right Mia, you knew what exactly was going to happen."

"I was sure Leon would understand."

"How's he doing?" said Dom as he walked into the room.

"Almost done," said Mia ash she put some mercurochrome on his nose cut.

"Good cause I want to talk with him when he's done." He left and headed back to the living room, Letty was waiting for him on the couch.

"How's he doing?" she said

"He's okay, Mia's almost done fixing him up," he replied as Akisha walked through the front door. They watched her pass by and head downstairs.

"I'm gonna go talk to her," said Letty getting up from the couch. She headed downstairs and to Akisha's room.

Down in her room Akisha laid on the bed crying. She felt so bad for both Leon and Vince, Vince for telling the truth with regret, and Leon for feeling betrayed. She could tell from their talk outside that Leon was definitely furious. She felt bad that all that time she'd spent with Vince had caused him to develop feelings for her. She thought that maybe she was a little too forward with him, which was probably why those feeling happened. She then thought about her and Leon and how this would probably end their engagement. She could see him driving around so upset with her that he'd call off the engagement as soon as he got back. Just then there was a soft knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me Letty, can I come in?"

"Yeah sure," said Akisha as she sat up and leaned against the wall at the head of the bed.

Letty slowly opened the door. "Hey girl how ya doing"

"I'm okay just upset."

"It's pretty understandable," said Letty as she entered and closed the door behind her. "I'm sure you're really scared about what is going to happen, especially between you and Leon." Letty sat down on the bed and smiled at her.

"I'm scared that this is the last straw for him, I know that he's furious at me and will break up with me as soon as he gets back."

"You don't know that he probably just went to blow some steam, I'm sure he'll be back soon. Hey Leon's not one to hold grudges for long, you should know that."

"Yeah I do, but it all depends on how bad the situation. From the look of this one it's really bad, which means it'll be hard for him to forgive me."

"Hey think positive it'll be okay."

"Thanks Letty," said Akisha as she smiled.

"Hey how bout we head upstairs and see if he's back?"

"Okay," she got off the bed and followed Letty out of the room.

Once they got upstairs they found Dom, Mia and Vince sitting down on the couch talking. Akisha took one look at Vince's face and immediately felt guilty. It was somewhat her fault that this had happened. Dom got up and walked over to Akisha to see if she was okay. "I'm fine Dom."

"Are you sure, because I just wanna be sure everything's okay," said Dom sincerely as Akisha nodded her response. "Okay well let's just sit here and wait for him to come back."

Akisha went and sat down beside Vince. She looked at him and gently laid her hand on top of his. "Hey."

"Hey," he said looking at her.

"I'm really sorry Vince; I never wanted this to happen. I feel like this is my entire fault. If I hadn't been so for…"

"Hey it's okay, you couldn't have done anything. I'm the one who's at fault here for not being able to control my feelings. It was Mia who told me that I should be more open about my feelings."

"But I'm the one who caused it to happen; I was so forward with you."

"You were trying to help me out and because you were so caring and understanding, I felt so moved by it. You were the first person to really want to help me, not because you felt sorry for me."

"I guess we're both at fault then," she said smiling.

"I guess. Well I'm gonna turn in, gotta start early tomorrow at the garage." He got up from the couch and headed downstairs.

"It's time for us to go too, let's go Dom," said Letty as she took Dom by the hand and led him to the stairs.

"Hey if you need any thing, just give me a holler," said Dom.

"I will," said Akisha as she watched them go upstairs

After they had gone, Akisha went to sit down in Leon's chair. She decided to wait for Leon to come back and hoped he'd be back soon. Every so often she'd get up and look out the window to see if she could see his car approaching, but there was no sign of him. After about thirty minutes later she went outside and sat on the front steps to wait for him, there was still no sign of him. She got up and went back into the house, sitting back down in the chair. As she sat there she wondered where he was and what he was doing. She curled up and covered herself with a blanket. Soon before she knew it, she was as fast asleep.

It was about 2 AM when she woke to the sound of Leon coming through the front door. She immediately got up and ran up to him, giving him a hug. She pulled away when she smelt the strong scent of alcohol on his breath. She looked at his green eyes which were now blood-shot red. "Leon have you been drinking?"

"Yeah I have so what, it's not like you care anyway," he said slurring his speech.

"Of course I care Leon, you drove home drunk. You could've gotten you or someone else killed."

"It doesn't' matter, I still made it home okay. Excuse me I'm going to bed," he said as he started to pass her.

"Not now Leon I want to talk to you," she said grabbing his arm. "Look we need to talk about this now, so you're clear about everything.

"I don't need to talk to you about anything Akisha; you're the one who decided to play around on me again, first with Rico and now again with Vince."

"I'm telling you the truth Leon nothing else happened between me and Vince but that kiss. All the other time we were just hanging out. What about you Leon, I bet you weren't totally truthful to me while you were here. I bet you must've slept around with tons of girls over that year you were here." As she looked in his eyes she could see that she was telling the truth. "So I guess I'm not the only one who likes to fool around?"

"Yeah I guess but…"

"No buts Leon I forgave you for that, at least you could return the favour. I know it was hard to forgive me with Rico, but with Vince there's nothing to forgive." She let go of his hand hoping he'd stay. He just stood there for a few minutes before turning around and heading downstairs. Akisha just stood there almost is tears, believing that the love between her and Leon was finally over. She was about to go lie down on the couch when she heard the downstairs door open, Leon appeared before her, still a little hung over. He walked right up to her and held her close.

"I'm sorry Akisha I've been such an asshole lately. I know well that you would never lie to me."

"I know Leon it's okay," she softly said as she gently messaged his cheek. "Let's go downstairs and get some rest.

"Fine with me," he said as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her downstairs, she giggled all the way down.

**To Be Continued**


	12. Chapter 12

**A New Life – Chapter 12**

The sun shone through the window of their room as Leon and Akisha were snuggled close to each other. Akisha awoke to see him facing her and breathing softly. She smiled and softly traced the lines of his face with her finger. She slowly got out of bed and wrapped her robe around her. She headed for the bathroom and turned on the tub facet. She then turned the shower knob and watched the water fall. She slipped off her robe and stepped in. As she showered she heard the door open and someone come in and use the toilet. She slowly looked from behind the curtain to see that it was Vince. She slowly closed the curtain and hoped that he didn't notice her. She was glad to hear the toilet flush and sink faucet go on, with Vince then leaving the room. She quickly finished her hair and got out of the shower. She then headed back to her room.

When she got back to the room she found Leon in his boxers rummaging through a pile of clothes. It looked like he was looking for something to wear. "Dammit I know I have something clean in here."

"Look inside your drawers, I put some stuff in there a few days ago."

Leon turned to see Akisha standing there. "Morning," he said as he opened a drawer, pulling out a pair of jeans and his mesh tank with the number eight on it.

"Hey Leon," she said smiling. "The shower's free if you want to use it." Leon smiled and walked past without saying another word; Akisha just sighed and closed the door. She went to her drawer and pulled out a pair of beige capris and a white tee that had a black skull on it and the words _Drop Dead_. She then applied a bit of lip gloss and eye shadow before heading upstairs for some breakfast.

When she got to the kitchen, she found Mia pouring herself a bowl of Fruit Loops. Mia turned and looked at Akisha. "Hey there sleep well?"

"Yeah I did."

"Was Leon really drunk when he came home, I sorta heard your fight?"

"Yeah he was, but I guess the sleep wore off the alcohol."

"I feel so bad for you, knowing that what happened is partially my fault. I was the one who told Vince to tell the truth, now I'm regretting saying it to him."

"It's okay Mia, I'm sure your intentions were noble."

"Thanks I feel so much better. Hey I was wondering if you wanted to do a little shopping, I have two hours to spare between my first and third period?"

"Sure no problem, besides I need to get some more clothes anyway."

"Great I'll give you the address before I leave," said Mia as she grabbed the milk from the fridge and headed for the dining room.

Akisha grabbed a bowl of Fruit Loops as well and then headed to the dining room. She sat close to Mia and took the milk from the centre of the table. "Where's everyone else?" she asked as poured milk on her cereal.

"They've all gone to the shop. Letty and Dom left an hour ago, Vince about five minutes."

"Cool, so what are you taking in school by the way?"

"Just trying to finish up a few extra credits I need to graduate. I had to drop out for awhile after Jesse died. It was hard on the team; it was almost too hard to continue without him. Dom said we had to continue on and keep going. I decided to go back to school and finish what I missed."

"That's good. I had to go through a similar thing when my parents were fighting."

"Maybe we can talk more about it later, I have to leave for school."

"Sure thing, we can chat some more while we shop."

"Great," said Mia as she got up and headed for the kitchen with her dirty dishes. She then headed for the door, waving goodbye to Akisha as she left. Akisha turned around and finished her food.

When Akisha was done, she got up from the table and took her bowl and the milk to the kitchen. As she rinsed out the bowl she noticed a slip of paper on the counter. When she was done she wiped her hands and picked up the note, it was the directions to the mall. She had just put the note in her pants pocket when Leon walked in. He took a small glance at her before walking to the fridge and taking out the jug of milk. He guzzled a whole lot before putting the jug back into the fridge. He was about to leave when Akisha called out his name. "What do you want Akisha?"

"I just wanted to talk about us and the engagement."

"What's there to talk about?"

"Well for starters when do you want to have it and exactly where, I know we discussed ideas, but we never really planned on anything."

"I don't know if I really want to, it doesn't matter that much to me anyway."

"What are you saying, you don't wanna get married anymore, is it because of last night?"

"I don't really know what it is; it's a bunch of things. Let's just not talk about it okay, I have to go meet the team at the garage." With that said he left the room and headed out the front door.

Akisha let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes. She knew that Leon was gonna feel like this because of last night. It definitely was the final straw for him and the way he reacted when she wanted to talk about the wedding was proof of it. She really needed to talk to someone about this and knew that Cheryl would be the perfect person. Cheryl was the one that she would always turn to when she had a problem. She went to the phone and noticed the message from Benny. She smiled when she noticed that he had put him down as "Big Ben". She remembered the reason why he was called that. It had to do with a joke from Rico that ended with Rico comparing Benny to the huge clock tower in London, England. Everyone laughed at it and as a result it became Benny's nickname.

She dialled the number and waited for an answer. "Sanchez residence, Cheryl speaking."

"Hey Cheryl it's me."

"Hey girl how've ya been, how's LA?"

"LA's great and I'm doing fine myself. The reason I called is because I have a bit of a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"Something really big." Akisha went over with Cheryl everything about what had gone on with her, Leon and the rest of the team. Cheryl was glad to hear that the team there had accepted her. When Akisha got to the part about her and Vince and Leon being furious, Cheryl was surprised and shocked. "I really don't know what to do girl, I'm really scared that Leon will call everything off."

"Hey girl don't worry about it, I'm sure Leon will come around. Like you said about you and that Vince guy, it was all a misunderstanding and you never really knew that he'd fallen for you. When you can really be alone with him, really talked to him about it."

"Thanks Cheryl, I gotta go. I'll let you know if there's any changes."

"You do that girl, bye for now."

"Bye Cheryl," Akisha said as she hung up the phone. Akisha wondered what she could do to make Leon really know that she was sorry and committed to him. She thought about the mound of dirty clothes that Leon had mentioned about before. She thought maybe if she did it for him and cleaned up the room a little it would prove it to him. She quickly headed down to the laundry room, grabbed a basket and headed to their room.

Once there she got all the dirty clothes from the floor and put them into the basket. She then went to the laundry room and set the basket near the washer. She started the washer and added liquid detergent. She began dropping the clothes in until it was full and closed the lid. She then hopped up and sat down on the washer. She grabbed a magazine nearby and began flipping through it. She noticed some sweet sweeper spinners and thought about maybe adding them to her car, as well some new skirts. When she looked on the back cover of the magazine she noticed an ad for _The Racer's Edge_. She remembered Hector mentioning it as the number one place to get good parts at a fair price. It was also where the team and many others got their parts, the map on the ad showed it to be close to the mall. She thought about maybe stopping there before meeting Mia at the mall. She glanced down at the dial and noticed that it was about to go into the rinse cycle, so she jumped down. She decided that while the clothes were spinning she would go and start cleaning up the room. She went and began to make the bed, then picked up the magazines that were lying around and set them on the nightstand. She heard the washer click into the rinse cycle and went to add the fabric softener. She then went back to the room and picked up the empty beer bottles on the floor. She headed upstairs and dumped them in the outside garbage can. She went back downstairs and did some last minute tidying as she heard the washer finish. She went to washer and began sorting the clothes, putting the dryer clothes right away in the dryer. She turned it on and took the basket of hanging clothes outside.

As she hung and clipped the clothes she thought about the outing she'd have with Mia at the mall. As she compared Mia to Cheryl, she found them to be very much alike. Both loved their brothers very much and looked out for them. They both acted as a leader when their brother wasn't able to. She looked at her watch and noticed that it was almost time to head to the shop. She put the last shirt on the line and took the basket inside and sat it down by the washer. She looked to see that the dryer was almost done. She decided to go get her purse ready while it was finishing up. She went to her purse and put in her cellphone and her wallet with about $500. She then went to the dryer and quickly folded the clothes and put them into the basket. She then put the basket on the bed, headed upstairs and out to her car. She got in and headed on her way to _The Racer's Edge_.

**To Be Continued**


	13. Chapter 13

**A New Life – Ch 13**

When Akisha arrived at _The Racer's Edge_ and parked her car, she noticed the place was busy. When she got inside she found that there were people everywhere and the two young employees could hardly keep up with the crowd. An older gentleman came out from a backroom and headed for the employees. "Hey guys how's it going?"

"Not good Harry, we're running outta stock," said one whose nametag said 'Robert'.

"Man this is the first time Dom has sold me out."

"Actually Harry it wasn't Dom, it was a newcomer," said Peter, the second employee.

"A newcomer, who?" said a very astonished Harry.

"No one knows her name, but she beat Dom a few days ago at Devil's Backbone," said Peter.

"A lot of people were surprised, she's the first to beat him in a long time," added Robert.

"Are you serious, I bet Dom wasn't too happy about it, he must've been furious about it?" said a shocked Harry.

"Nah he was a little, but he was happy for her, it was her initiation into the team."

"The team?" Harry replied scratching his head.

"Yeah since that young kid on his team died, he's been looking for someone to replace him," said Peter.

"And man she was fast, kept up the top spot for awhile. Dom got past her but she beat him out in the end."

"Well I guess that's the reason why this place has been so busy, she's made the fans idolize her instead of him?"

"Yeah man it surely is," said Robert.

"Well if we do sell out, it's gonna be hard to get everything restocked, anyway do the best you can guys." Harry headed back to the backroom, probably to start ordering more parts. As she watched the crowd, she was surprised to know that this crowd was about her. She figured that if she waited to get her spinners, she would be late to meet Mia at the mall. She left the store and headed back to her car and headed for the mall.

When she arrived at the mall, she admired the layout. It was an open mall with all the shops outside; they were on two floors with stairs and elevators. In the centre was a huge fountain and benches surrounding it. She drove to the parking lot and parked her car. She headed to the fountain, sat on one of the benches and waited for Mia. Ten minutes later Mia arrived and met up with her. "Hey glad to see you made it, did you find it okay?"

"Yeah it was pretty simple, plus I'm good with directions."

"Good then let's go do some shopping," smiled Mia. The girls headed in the direction of the store and began their outing. They went to every store from clothing to shoes and music. About an hour later they stopped to have a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake. As they ate Akisha told Mia about the incident at _The Racer's Edge_, Mia was surprised to hear that all those people were there because of her instead of her brother. She figured it had to have been because of Akisha beating Dom, that she became so popular. "Well we better hurry up and eat; I want to do a bit more shopping before I have to head back."

"Sure thing," said Akisha as she quickly finished her fries. They paid for their food and did some more shopping before they went their separate ways. Akisha noticed as she started her car that it sounded like it needed a tune up. She headed back to the house to get changed before heading to the garage.

Meanwhile at the garage the others were busy working on an old Toyota Corolla. They were busy repairing the muffler and transmission; well it was more like everyone but Vince doing all the work, he was busy smoking. "Yo Vince get your ass over here and help us," said Dom with a glare.

"I'm fine over here Dom, besides if I'm around him I'll probably get the rest of my face bashed it," he said glancing at Leon.

"He assured me that nothing is going to happen, so get your butt over here and help us out."

"In a minute," Vince said as he took another puff of his cigarette.

"No now," said Dom with piercing eyes. Vince dropped the half done cigarette and stomped it out. He headed over to the car, just as Akisha pulled in, Vince and everyone watched her.

"Hey guys need any help?" she said getting out of the car.

"Not really we're fine here," said Letty.

"Okay then, if you don't mind I need to work on mine."

"No problem, just remember…"

"…to put away any tools I take out, yeah I remember Dom."

"Good, you can go on and work inside," said Dom as Akisha left to go open the garage door. She then got back into her car, backed up and drove inside the shop. She got out and pressed the button for the lift and raised the car up. She started on the muffler, by taking it off and began to clean it out. She replaced it and began working on the exhaust system.

"Look's good, want some help?" said Leon as he came up behind her. "It looks like you could use some."

"And what makes you say that?" she said as she continued with her work, not looking at him.

"Well you're such a lovely girl, and I would want you to get all dirty now. Believe me the grease would ruin that lovely complexion of yours."

"Really," she said turning around.

"Yeah besides if I asked you to marry me later, there's no way to get rid of the grease in time."

"What?!" she said with a shocked expression.

"I'm serious, I wanna get married."

"Leon we can't just do it without some planning, beside I everyone to be there; my mom, Benny and the gang..."

"I'm just playing with you girl," he said chuckling, "it's my way of saying that I totally forgive you and I'm ready to commit to you. I want to make sure that there's nothing else that can stand in our way, which is why I want to do it as soon as we can."

"Is this weekend too soon?"

"You expect me to wait five days, c'mon girl I want you right now," he said as he pulled her into this arms and kissed her hard on the lips. The rest of the team saw them from outside and began cheering.

Vince let out a large and loud howl. "Woohoo Leon's getting his groove on," he shouted out laughing.

"Shut your mouth Vince, before I make you shut it," Leon hollered back.

"I'm all yours loverboy."

"That's it you're dead," said Leon as he started for Vince, but Akisha stopped him.

"Leave him Leon, let's finish my car."

"Aww I was only going to kick his butt," Leon said whining.

"Car now ass kicking later," she said as she dragged him back to the car.

"Fine you win," he said as he rolled his eyes. He went back to work tuning up her car.

At around 5 PM the gang stopped working and began to clean up. Dom called the owner of the Corolla to say that the car was ready for pick up. When he got off he told the team about a race that he was planning for tonight. It was going to be a race along the Strip with a 2 G buy-in. The gang was surprised, especially because it was outside their area. "No way Dom we can't," said Letty.

"Why not?" said Dom

"Because it's outside the safety zone, Tanner's going to kill us if we're caught beyond the boundaries. If he does, you'll be headed on a one-way trip to the doghouse, and this time you'll be there for life."

"Yeah man think about Mia, think about how she'll feel with you in jail. She'd be heartbroken to know that she'll be living the rest of her life with you stuck behind bars," said Vince.

"Yeah man let's do it somewhere safe," added Leon.

"The only other place we can do it is by the observatory."

"That's Tran territory and since Johnny's dead, I heard that his cousin had taken over. He has this personal vendetta against you," said Letty.

"Fuck him this is where it's going to be. If he has anything against me, he can come and get me."

"You're crazy man and I love crazy," said Vince with a mischievous smile on his face.

"Good, let's head back to the house and get ready," said Dom. "Let's start cleaning up."

"We still need to finish Akisha's car, we'll stay behind and lock up when we're done."

"Fine, but don't be late, I need you as the lookout," said Dom as he and the others left.

"Sure thing, see ya guys later." Once Dom and the others had left, Leon looked at Akisha with a sly smile. "Now where were we?" he said as he leaned in to kiss her.

"No way Leon, we have to finish," she said pushing him away."

"You know fully well we're done, I just said that so I could have you all to myself."

"Leon you bad boy," she said with a smile.

"And proud of it," he said as he pulled her close and began nibbling her neck softly. He picked her up and carried her to the couch and laid her down. She giggled as he softly buried his face into her chest.

The shrill sound of the phone ringing startled Leon as he quickly woke up. Akisha breathed softly beside him. Leon got up to answer the phone. "Yeah who is it?"

"Leon where the fuck are you, I want to start the race and I need to know if it's okay or not?" shouted Dom.

"What?" said Leon as he glanced at the clock. "Holy shit, man I'm sorry I lost the track of time."

"You'll lose more that that if you don't get your damn butt over here."

"Will do," said Leon as he hung up the phone. He then ran over to Akisha and woke her up. She moaned and stretched.

"Who was on the phone Leon?" she asked as she yawned.

"It was Dom, he needs us to get over to the race site.

"I sure hope he knows what he's doing."

"I'm sure of it, let's go," said Leon as Akisha headed to her car and started it. She drove out of the garage and waited for him as he shut the door and made sure that the door was locked. Leon went to his car and got in. He drove up beside her, and together they headed for the race site.

Meanwhile at the race site the rest of the gang was preparing for the race. The usual happenings were going on, and everyone was gearing up for the race. People were still chatting about the race where Akisha had beaten Dom. Many locals were calling it a fluke and a one-time thing. They believed that she just got lucky and it probably wouldn't happen again. Akisha heard all of this as she drove through the crowd to the rest of the team, Leon was there waiting for her. She got out and went over to him; together they headed for the team. "Hey guys how's it going?" she asked

"It's a'right where were you?" asked Letty.

"Leon and I were making out and accidently fell asleep on the couch."

"Your fuckin' bullshitting me?!" exclaimed Letty as she looked them up and down.

"I'm serious," said Leon.

"You guys must've woken up when my brother called you guys?" said Mia.

"Leon got up to answer and woke me later."

"Well thank God he called, otherwise Dom would've had a real fit," said Letty. She looked in Dom's direction and noticed that he was preparing to race. "Looks like everything's ready to go," she said as she headed for the crowd, the others followed her. They mixed in with the crowd and got ready to watch the race.

While they were watching the race, Akisha looked behind and saw Vince on the hood of his car alone. She knew he was keeping his distance as to not cause anymore problems between Leon and her. She also noticed that bruise on his eye was starting to heal. She wanted to go over and check up on him, but knew that it would probably be a bad idea. She decided to go against her better judgement and check up on him. She hurried over leaving Letty and Mia to watch the race. Hey Vince, you oaky?"

"What do you want?" he said with his eyes on the race.

"Just wanted to check up on you."

"Well I'm fine, now please leave."

"Why are you acting like this Vince?"

"You wanna know why, don't give me that bull, you know why. I guess you weren't paying attention when you fiancée almost landed me in he hospital."

"Look Vince I'm sorry for what happened, but you're just as much at fault."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well you should've told me how you felt about me I would've been able to warn Leon."

"Yeah I guess you're right, I'm kinda guilty. I just never expected that feeling to happen."

"It's okay Vince, believe me you're not the first."

"I'm not?" he said with a raised eyebrow.

"No there was this other guy…" Akisha went into the situation between her, Leon and Rico. She went into how Rico had taken into her, but kept hidden until Leon had taken off for LA.

"So this guy really had a thing for you, I can't believe he was the one to shoot you?"

"Yeah and now he's in jail because of it. Leon was by my side the entire time, he promised never to leave me again."

"That's why he's so committed to you he doesn't want to lose you to anyone else."

"Exactly, don't worry I'm sure he'll come back and apologize."

"Humph, yeah right."

"C'mon Vince be optimistic, Leon knows what he did was wrong, he'll come through."

"Yeah whatever, look you better get back to the others, don't want anymore rumours to fly."

"Fine, see you later." Akisha left Vince and headed back to the others.

When she got back the race had just finished, Dom had won. The girls were clapping and cheering, as well as the rest of the crowd. "Wow that was a great race wasn't it Akisha?" said Mia.

"Yeah Dom sure beat their asses."

"Yeah guys it was really exciting," Akisha lied, hoping the girls wouldn't noticed.

"You're lying, I know you weren't watching, saw you talking with Vince," said Letty with a hand on her hip.

"You're right I was talking to Vince."

"About what?" asked Mia.

"About what happened today, and Leon's reason for getting so angry."

"Does it have to do with that guy back in San Francisco, Rico I think it is?" said Mia.

"Yeah, how do you know?" asked Akisha, surprised and wondered how she knew.

"I overheard Leon talk on the phone to a guy named Benny, he was talking about this guy who's in jail now. He said that he'd fallen for you while Leon was here and when Leon back, you'd fallen back in love with him. This guy got so upset that he shot you, hoping to kill you, but you survived."

"Yeah that's him."

"Hey guys I hate to break this up, but we'd better go before either the cops or Lance finds us,"

"Letty's right let's head back." The girls got their stuff and headed for home.

**To be continued**


	14. Chapter 14

**A New Life – Ch 14**

When the ladies got back to the party was on. Once in the house they saw the house was packed with people, most of them by Dom. Letty gritted her teeth as a bunch of ladies flirted with Dom. "Excuse me ladies I have some skanks to handle." Letty left Mia and Akisha and headed over to Dom.

"Looks like Letty's ready for some ass-kicking, is she always like this?"

"Yeah always, Letty doesn't like it when bimbos throw themselves at him."

"Wow, has she actually beaten anyone?"

"No but she can be intimidating. Let's go join the party." The girls headed in the direction of the others. On the way they ran into Leon carrying a Corona in each hand.

"Hello ladies, Mia do you mind if I steal this lovely lady from you?"

"No go ahead," chuckled Mia.

"Thank you," he said as he wrapped an arm around Akisha's waist and led her away. "This is for you my sweet," he said as he handed her the beer.

"So where are we off to?"

"Our secret spot," he said with a sly smile.

"The roof?" she smiled back.

"Where else, there's something I want to tell you."

"Ooh sounds like it's something romantic."

"Wait and see," he said as they headed outside to the waiting ladder.

Once they got up to the roof, the couple sat on the roof and looked up at the moon. Leon took Akisha's hand and looked into her eyes. "The reason I brought you here is because I have thought of the perfect time for us to get married."

"Really when?" she asked.

"How bout a month from today?"

"Why then," she said as she searched his face for the answer.

"Think about it Akisha, what's so special about that day?"

Akisha thought hard until a smile came to her face. "It's the anniversary of when we met three years ago."

"Exactly what a better way to prove to everyone that we love each other, then to get married on the day that you and I met?"

"I think it's a wonderful idea," Akisha said as she wrapped her arms around him. "Let's go down and tell everyone."

"Nah we can tell them tomorrow, plus I want it to be private."

"I guess that's good, don't wanna invite the whole neighbourhood."

"Exactly and also we can plan where to have it."

"I would like to have it someplace meaningful, like the beach or a park."

"I wouldn't mind if we had it in the middle of the street, but as long as we have all our family and friends there."

"I agree with you Leon," she said finishing the last of her beer. "I can't wait to be with you Leon I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"So do I Akisha," he said with a smile.

"I would also like to move and be on our own, not too far from the others."

"Why would you want that?"

"I don't feel like we can be on our own if the others are there. How can we be ourselves when they're within hearing distance?"

"I guess you're right, it shouldn't be too far, like a block away."

"Yeah within walking distance is a good start."

"Sounds okay with me, come here," he said as he laid down and pulled her into his arms, kissing her on the lips.

"Leon we can't do this, what if we you know…"

"I wouldn't mind," he said with a sly smile.

"Leon c'mon we can go downstairs, say hi and then head downstairs."

"Okay, anything for you," Leon and Akisha headed back down the ladder.

When they got back to their room Leon closed and locked the door. He pulled Akisha into his arms and kissed her hard on the lips. He then began nibbling her neck and pressing his body into hers. "God you're so beautiful Akisha, I want you so bad."

"Take me Leon, I'm yours," she replied breathlessly. Leon lifted her up and carried her to the bed. He laid her down and began undressing. He fell down beside her and kissed her cheek. She rolled on top of him and began undressing. When she was done he pulled her down and buried is face in her chest. She straddled his body and moaned as his tongue explored her body. He got up and lifted her as he pulled away the sheets. He laid back down and pulled the sheets over them.

"I'm so glad that you're mine Akisha, I'm sorry I doubted you."

"It's okay Leon, I know you felt betrayed by what happened, but at least you know it was unintentional."

"I know it was and I should've known you wouldn't do anything to hurt me."

"It's also something that you should know by now about me," she said as she laid her head on his chest.

"I should know that, but I guess I tend to act with my head rather than my heart."

Akisha giggled. "That's definitely a problem with you, but I know it's something you'll work on."

"You bet I will," he said as he kissed her head. "Now let's get some rest, we'll let the others know the good news tomorrow."

"Sound's good to me," she replied with a yawn. Leon gently fingered her hair as she softly fell asleep. Leon fell asleep after her.

The next morning they got up and had a shower, before heading upstairs to have breakfast with the others. The rest of the team was at the table having omelettes for breakfast. "Hey guys, your breakfast is waiting in the kitchen," said Mia.

"Thanks girl, by the way they smell great," said Leon as he and Akisha headed for the kitchen. They came back a minutes later with an omelette on their plates. They sat down at the table and began eating. "Oh guys we've got something to tell you."

"What?" asked Letty as she drank her orange juice.

"Leon and I have settled on a wedding date. We've planned it to be a month from now, it's out special date," said Akisha.

"What's so special about it?" asked Dom.

"Well it's the date when Leon and I first met."

"How did you guys meet anyway?" asked Mia

"Well it happened back in San Francisco," said Akisha as she began explaining how they met that one night. "It was really special time for us he also introduced me to his team."

"Well you do seem like a good racer, but I really think you should try Race Wars," said Vince.

"What's Race Wars?"

"It's this big race that happens every year in the desert at an undisclosed location. It's where the best of the best race for big bucks."

"Sounds like fun," Akisha said with excitement in her voice.

"Yeah, I really think you should go and race," said Vince.

"Just might do that, how do we enter?"

"Already signed us up," said Dom.

"Cool, would love to prove myself that way."

"Yeah and show the entire world how good you are," said Leon.

"And also put some of those guys in their place," said Letty.

"We'll talk more about that later. So Leon where's the wedding going to be?" said Dom trying to get back on track.

"We're planning to have it at the park."

"Why there, let me guess it's got a special meaning too right?" said Letty, as everyone broke out in laughter.

"Yeah it does," said Akisha, "but right now is not the time for that."

"She's right, we've got stuff to do," said Dom. The team finished their food and met in the living room to talk.

There in the living room the team discussed on what was going to be the agenda for the day. Mia said she saw signs for a car wash at the mall. Akisha said that she had some errands to run and meet them there. "Does anyone else have anything to do?" said Dom.

"No I think that's it," said Letty.

"K then let's go," said Dom as the gang got up to leave.

Leon walked over to Akisha, "Hey where do you have to go"

"_The Racer's Edge_, need to pick up some parts."

"What kind of parts?"

"Some spinners, skirts maybe and some exhaust tips."

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Would you be mad if I said yes?"

"I don't know, maybe."

"Well in that case yes, this is something I want to do on my own."

"Okay, you can call me if…"

"Leon don't make me…"

"Make you what get mad; you're nothing when you get mad."

"We'll see," said Akisha as she made a pass at Leon and got him in a headlock.

"Hey Akisha let go."

"No way, you deserve this."

"No I don't, now let go," he said gasping for air.

"Fine," she said as she let go of him. Leon craned his neck and rotated it.

"Well I guess I'm off with the others," said Leon as he kissed her goodbye and left. Akisha waited until he was gone before leaving the house herself.

As she headed to _The Racer's Edge_ Akisha wondered how they would plan the wedding and how it would look. She wondered how the team would make out with Benny's. She thought about asking Dom if it would be okay to invite them over one day so that they could meet each other. Just as she finished thinking about it, she had reached the shop. She went inside to find out that was less busy than before which was good. She walked up to Peter and asked him about the spinners and the other stuff. As they were going over the exhaust tip selections, Peter got a glance of her car. Suddenly he recognized it as the one that everyone was talking about, the one that had beaten Dom. He then looked at her and realized that she was the one who had beaten Dom. "You're her," he whispered.

"Who?" she whispered back to him.

"The one everyone is talking about. You're the reason the store was busy yesterday."

"Yeah that was me," she said nervously. "Did you guys really sell out?"

"Almost, thanks to Harry and his phone calling we were able to restock quickly. So about those spinners, let me check up on them, I'll be back." As she waited she looked around the shop. There was everything here from performance parts to decals.

Harry emerged from the backroom and saw Akisha standing over by the spinners. He nonchalantly walked over to her. "Can I help you with anything miss?"

"Oh no thanks I'm already being served," replied Akisha smiling.

"Fine if you need anything let me know," said Harry as he walked away. On the way he met Peter who he asked about his customer. When Peter mentioned who she was, Harry's eyes popped out of his head, Harry just shook his head and walked away.

"I'm back and it looks like we got everything in stock, would you like to get them today?"

"Yeah sure, how much will everything be?"

"About $500."

"Got it right here," she said as she showed him a huge wad of cash.

"Great if you go over to the counter Robert will help you out."

"Thanks," said Akisha as she headed for the counter and Peter headed for the stockroom. Five minutes later Akisha was out the door with her parts in hand. She placed them on the backseat of her car, then got inside. She drove off back to the house and stored her parts in her room. She then went back upstairs and back to the car. She then headed on her way to the mall to meet the others.

On her way there she wondered about the stuff that was said about her yesterday. She knew a lot of people were saying that her win with Dom was a fluke and it hurt. She knew that she was new and her rep wasn't that good, but she figured if she had a couple more wins before going against Dom again she might stop them in her tracks. It brought back the times she had in Frisco trying to make a rep for herself. It was just as tough trying to prove that although she was female she could still race with the best of them. Sometimes it was tough to deal with it by herself and she'd spent nights crying herself to sleep. It wasn't until she met Leon and the rest of the team that she felt at home with them. As she pulled up to the mall she found that it was so busy that it would be hard to find the team.

After circling the mall she found them, she drove over to them and parked her car. "Hey guys how's it going?" she said as she walked over.

"It's busy, we'd thought we'd wait a while before getting them done," said Letty.

"Yeah I noticed that as I drove up here, it was hard finding you guys. So where's Leon and Vince?"

"Checking the ladies out, the usual," said Mia. "Vince I would expect this, but not Leon."

"Well leave that to me, I'll handle him," said Akisha as she went in the direction of Leon and Vince. She walked over to Leon and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Yeah what's the matter," said Leon as he turned around and saw Akisha. "Oh hey baby."

"Don't 'Hey baby' me, what do you think you're doing Leon?"

"Nothing I was just talking."

"Yeah right get over here," she said as she grabbed Leon by the ear and dragged him away. Leon cried in pain as he followed her. When they got far way she let go. "What the hell is going on Leon?" she said with her hands on her hips.

"Nothing's going on Akisha I promise, I was just chatting with them," he replied rubbing his ear. "That was embarrassing you know."

"That's embarrassing, how bout me catching you in the act Leon? Hello Leon I'm getting married to you in a month and you act like it's nothing."

"It does mean something, what's wrong with me chatting with other women? What do you think I was going to do go somewhere with them?"

"No I guess you're right I was acting jealous wasn't I?"

"Yeah, but it's all okay. Man it's really hot out here, I don't think I can wait out here for us to get our cars washed."

"You know we could go home and do it ourselves?" suggested Akisha.

"Hmm that sounds like a good idea, how bout it?"

"It sounds great but you know what's going to happen?"

"No I don't," he said slyly.

"Knowing us, we're going to get more wet than the cars."

"That's a perfect assumption, and I like it. It's the perfect way to cool off," he said as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Leon you devil," she chuckled, what am I going to do with you?"

"Well for one thing, you could join me in the car wash."

"Fine let's go," she said rolling her eyes. Taking his hand they headed towards their cars. When the others asked where they were going they just said they were going home, and sped away.

**TBC**

_A/N: Sorry that it's been so long since I updated this fic but my life has been busy at the moment so I haven't had much time to update this but I'm planning to try my best to update when I go. Please review cause your comments do help._**  
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	15. Chapter 15

**A New Life – Ch. 15**

When the two of them for back to the house, they both drove up into the driveway. Akisha got out and said that she would go get the buckets and sponges while he started watering the cars. Leon agreed as he got out of his car. He headed for the hose and dragged it to the cars. He gently sprayed the cars as Akisha came out with two buckets. She handed Leon a bucket and went to hers with her bucket. She began washing her car and thinking how great it would look all washed and polished for her next race. As he watched her while cleaning his car, Leon thought about what it took to get him here to this situation. It took a lot of hard work and sacrifice, be he knew it was worth it. It got him the love of a beautiful woman, a great group of friends, and a chance to be with all of them at once. He was happy that he would get to marry Akisha and be with her for the rest of his life. He thought about what she said about moving away from the team and wondered if it was a good idea. He knew they had it all here, but then realized that if children were involved, it wouldn't be a good place to raise them. He smiled at Akisha knowing that she'd make a great mother someday.

An hour later they were done with their cars and drying them up, after putting the buckets and sponges away the sat down together at the top of the front steps. Holding hands, they held each other close. Leon asked Akisha if she was able to buy her stuff and she replied yes. She also told him how the employees recognized who she was. She said that she'd hoped to race Dom again to prove that her beating him wasn't a one-time deal. Leon said that Dom was planning a race for tonight and that maybe she could prove herself there. He also suggested that they head to the garage and add the parts so that when she did race, she'd be arriving and racing in style. Akisha agreed and she headed inside to grab the parts, while he went to start the cars. She came back with the stuff and put it into the backseat of her car. They got into their cars and headed for the garage. They got to the garage just as the sun was starting to set. "Man we better hurry with these parts and get back," said Leon as they got out of their cars.

"Well if we hurry and work together I'm sure we'll get it done in time," Akisha as she began lifting the car up.

"I'll work on the spinners; you handle the skirts and tips."

"Fine by me," said as she handed him the package with the spinners. She headed to the back of the car and began taking off her old exhaust tips.

As they were working on the car, the phone rang; Leon went to go get it. "Yeah who is it?"

"It's Mia, why are you guys at the shop, Dom's looking for you?"

"We're working on Akisha's car, getting ready for the race tonight."

"The race, oh you mean the one at the docks?"

"Yeah that one, Akisha's going to race."

"But I thought that Dom was the only one of us racing?"

"Akisha's getting tired of hearing that her win against Dom was a fluke, so she's planning to race tonight to prove that she really is a great racer.

"Oh have you talked to Dom yet?"

"No I plan to when we meet you guys?"

"Where are you guys going?"

"When we finish with the car, we're gonna grab a bite to eat."

"Ok see you then." Mia said as Leon hung up the phone and headed back to Akisha.

"What was that about?" Akisha asked as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand."

"It was just Mia, Dom's wondering where we are"

"I see, what's this about going out for dinner?"

"There's this cool place near the beach, I thought we could go there. It's near the docks, so we can head to the race from there.

"Ok, well I'm done with the tips and the skirts; how are you with the spinners?"

"Almost done, let's quickly finish together and we can head on our way." They hurried and put on the last spinners, checked them out and then headed to the dinner.

Leon took Akisha to _Neptune's Net_ where they shared a plate of fish and chips. "This stuff takes good, like it's homemade," said Akisha as bit into a piece of fish.

"That's why we like coming here; it's the only place besides _Cha Cha Cha's_ where the food is good."

"Well I'm glad we came here then, I love home cooked stuff. Hey by the way, do you think Dom would mind if I invited Benny and the others to the house? I was hoping we could get together before the wedding."

"So that we could all get acquainted?"

"Yeah, it would be great that we all meet, after all we left one family for the other. It wouldn't be fair not to include them."

"You're right; it would be a great idea. We could ask him before or after the race, actually it's better to ask after, since he'll be preparing for the race."

"I think so too, but you know if we keep his mind…"

"Hey don't even think that, trying to distract Dom so that your car wins is not the way to go."

Akisha burst into laughter. "I'm only kidding Leon, it wouldn't be fair either. Besides I want to win this without having to cheat."

"I know, well we better head off." Leon paid for the food and they headed on their way.

They got to the race site just as the others were pulling in, they joined in behind and drove with them, the crowd cheering around them. Dom got out and saw Leon and Akisha get out of their cars. He walked over to them a little upset. "Leon, you know I hate it when you guys just take off."

"Sorry Dom, but it was getting to hot to wait for our cars to get washed, so we decided to head back to the house to wash ours."

"Well then why were you at the garage?"

"Adding some parts to Akisha's car for the race," Leon replied.

"What race?" said Dom as he cocked an eyebrow.

"Tonight's race, Akisha wants to race."

"Why does she need to race?" Dom asked as he eyed Akisha.

"To prove that my win wasn't a fluke," replied Akisha

"I don't know if that's a good idea, with the others that want to race, we're not going to have enough room for five people."

"Ok then, I guess we'll just have to wait till next week at Race Wars, said Leon.

"We still could try, you never know someone might pull out of the race," added Akisha.

"Fine, if you want to wait around go ahead, but I can't guarantee anything."

"It's okay with us, what's the buy-in?" asked Leon.

"Two grand, but wait to pay up until the race is about to start." Leon and Akisha left to get ready for the race.

When they got up to Hector who was handling the money, they saw Edwin, Jimmy and another person, Carlos there. Edwin saw them coming over, "Aw man don't tell me she wants to race again?"

"I think so man," said Jimmy.

"If she want to race, then I'm pulling out, I'm not losing anymore dough to her. Give me my money Hector, I'm outta here."

"Sure thing amigo," said Hector as he handed Edwin his money. Edwin then headed away from the group.

"Well Hector I guess we're in then," said Leon as Akisha handed Hector the money.

"Good to have you in the race chica, good luck," Hector said with a smile.

"Thanks man, let's go tell Dom we're in," said Leon as the headed over to Dom, but stopped when they saw the others head in their direction.

"Hey Hector, who's in?" asked Dom.

"Everyone but Edwin, he decided to pull out because of Akisha."

"Really, that's a first," said Dom with a surprised look.

"I guess he thought he couldn't beat Akisha again," said Letty.

"So if there are no other concerns, then let's get this race started." Everyone headed in their needed directions and prepared for the race.

At the starting line, the four cars were lined up and preparing for the race. They all looked in Hector's direction, waiting for the signal to floor it. Five minutes later Hector's hand went down and the four cars were off. Akisha and Jimmy took on an early lead as Dom started to catch up. He soon passed them and took the lead, Akisha hot on his tail. Just as she was about to past Dom, her car jerked forward. She looked behind to find that it was Carlos ramming into her. She immediately pulled ahead and picked up speed trying to match Dom, while also trying to keep Carlos off her tail. She pressed the button for his first NOS tank and rocketed ahead, passing Dom in the process. Dom came after her at the last minute but it wasn't enough to pull ahead, Akisha had won the race and beaten him again. Everyone was surprised but Dom was furious at Carlos. He knew what Carlos did was wrong and life threatening, he immediately went in his direction. When he got to Carlos' car, he was getting out. "What the hell do you think you were doing?"

"Nothing man, just racing," Carlos replied.

"Really what I saw you do was trying to cheat."

"What are you talking about it's every man for himself out there?"

"Not at the expense of another life, you could've killed someone."

"It's not like I did, she still won," Carlos said, beginning to get pissed off at Dom.

"That doesn't change a thing, you tried to cheat and I don't like cheaters. You know what, I don't wanna see you around here again, and if I do I'm sending the cops after you."

"Whatever man, you can't do anything." Dom wanted to punch Carlos for what just had said, but walked away and back to car. Once Dom got back to his car, he got in and he and the rest of the team headed back to the house.

When they got home, there was no party going on, Dom had decided not to have a party because he was tired and just wanted to relax before heading to bed. A few crowd members who upset when he mentioned this after the race, but they understood that whatever Dom said or decided was final. The gang entered the house and went into the house and into the living room. Dom, Letty, and Mia flopped onto the couch; Vince went to his corner, and Leon and Akisha to the armchair. Dom let out a sigh. "Well I'm beat, I'm heading to bed."

"Hey Dom before you go, I need to talk with everyone," said Akisha getting off Leon's lap.

"Sure what about?" asked Dom.

"Well when Leon and I get married, as guests we wanted to invite our old team from San Francisco. I thought that before they come here for the wedding, we could invite them over so that you guys could meet them."

"I think that sounds like a great idea and I would love to have them over. Let's plan to invite them over this weekend in three days," said Dom.

"Great I'll call them tomorrow and set everything up," said Akisha with a smile.

"Well if no one has anything else to say, I'm off to bed, let's go Dom," said Letty as she got up and took Dom's hand. She pulled him up from the couch and towards the stairs. The others followed except for Leon and Akisha.

"I'm glad you were the one to ask Dom about Benny and them coming here," said Leon as he stood her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Why's that?" she asked as she rested her head on his chest.

"Because I think it meant more coming from you than me."

"It's because I would know what they're like better than you? You forget you're the one who introduced me to them."

"I know, but since I've been here awhile, they may have changed."

"That's true. Well let's go to bed, we have to make plans for this and Race Wars."

**The End**


End file.
